The Father’s Eternal Intention for Our Lives in Christ.
Jesus said to his disciples, “If any man will come to me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” For whoever saves his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Matthew 16:24-25.
The message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ reveals that the salvation wrought for humanity was purposed, purchased, and made freely available for all people, in all nations, throughout all generations. From the beginning, this was no accidental plan, but it was the outworking of the Father’s Eternal Intention.
Jesus has declared, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish, but shall have everlasting life. John 3:16. It is of enormous importance that, as believers, we fully understand the meaning of whosoever: Whosoever means there is:
There is no distinction.
There is no exclusion.
There are no limitations placed by heaven on who may come.
Jesus himself confirmed this reality when he said, All that the Father gives me shall come to me, and the one who comes to me I will in no wise cast out. John 6:37. His invitation stands open to every person, without discrimination against anyone.
Throughout the Gospels we see the ministry of Jesus Christ move amongst the people. The blind received their sight, the lame walked, lepers were cleansed, those who were deaf heard, the dead were raised up, and the poor had the Gospel preached to them. Matthew 11:5. Through every act, and by every word spoken, the Father’s heart was revealed, salvation being offered without partiality, and mercy extended without measure.
The price of this salvation was the precious life of the Son, given so willingly. The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. Matthew 20:28. At the cross, Jesus Christ bore the sin of the world, thereby making the atonement complete.
And in his resurrection, Jesus Christ opened the way for all who would place a living belief in Him to enter into the life of Almighty God. This salvation is not confined to an era, a culture, or a one-people group. Jesus commanded that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name amongst all nations. Luke 24: 47. The Gospel of Jesus Christ of Nazareth carries the same power in every generation, because:
Jesus Christ remains the same.
The Father has never changed.
Therefore, the words of Jesus Christ will always remain eternal truth, and therefore, the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ stands forever. Salvation is the Father’s gracious gift for all of humanity, but it must be received through faith by believing in His Son. This is a valuable truth that must be preached throughout all this world. No one is beyond its reach.
No one is excluded from its invitation. To all who will receive Jesus Christ shall enter in the fullness of a salvation designed by the Father, accomplished by the Son, revealed by the Holy Spirit of God.
Purposed, Never Accidental.
The Father’s eternal intention for our lives in Christ was never an accident. Long before we ever had any thought of or towards the Father, He had already purposed that we should be brought into fellowship with His Son. Jesus made this perfectly clear when he prayed: Father, you love Me before the foundation of this world, and then declared that this same love is offered to all who will believe. Jesus Christ testified that He was sent with a clear commission:
The Father’s will was deliberate.
Purposeful..
And unwavering.
Through His Son, men and women might receive life, true life, life that is abundant in quality and life in quantity, eternal life. Jesus said, I am come that they might have life, that they might have it more abundantly. John 10:120.
Jesus declared for God so loved the world He gave His own begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. This life was not an afterthought or a response to human failure. It was the Father’s desire from the very beginning. Even His call to follow Him bears witness to intention, not chance. When Jesus said, come, follow me, it was a summons spoken with authority and with purpose.
Every miracle, every teaching, every act of compassion revealed the deliberate unfolding of the Father’s plan to bring us into union with Jesus Christ.. The cross itself stands as the clearest proof that our life in Jesus Christ was never accidental. Jesus declared, for this cause came I until this hour. When Jesus went to this cross, His sacrifice was not forced by circumstances wrought against him through the action of men, but through His chosen obedience to the Father’s eternal will.
When Jesus Christ rose again, in doing so He secured for us a life anchored not in human striving, but in divine design. In Christ, we are to live out that which the Father always intended for our live:
That we should know Him.
Walk with Him.
And partake of the life that is found only in His Son.
Our salvation, our calling, our identity are the fulfilment of an eternal purpose established in the heart of the Father, revealed through Jesus Christ. It was set in motion through the union of the Godhead, even before this world existed. Long before Adam’s sin and rebellion, the work of redemption to restore humanity was already in the Father’s heart.
Jesus Is The Lamb of God.
Jesus is the Lamb of God, slain before the foundation of the world. Before time began, the Father purposed that we, being in Christ, would be conformed to the image of His Son. This is the true meaning of predestination. For too long, predestination has been misunderstood. It is not about the Father choosing certain people for heaven and condemning all others to spend a Christless eternity in hell. No, never. The truth is this. It’s not about who is predestined, but what we are predestined to. We are predestined to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. This changes everything.
When Jesus commands us to deny ourselves, to take up our own cross and follow Him, He is commanding us to embrace Almighty God’s eternal design for our lives. It is our alignment with the Father’s purpose to walk in submission, trust, and unity with Him.
Time and time again, the Spirit of the Lord continues to bring to my mind the account of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet, and Jesus made plain the reason for this. You call me Teacher and Lord, and you say, well, so I am. If I, then, your Lord and your Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet, for I have given you an example that you should do as I have done unto you. John 13: 13-15.
Jesus Christ Must be the Ultimate Standard in our Lives.
We are never taught anywhere to follow anyone else. No matter who they may be, we are called to walk on this earth with Jesus Christ leading the way. Purposed, purchased, the cost has been paid so that we might walk in His way. Though the Father purposed this call, it comes at a cost, not first to us, but to Himself. The Father’s will for our redemption required the offering of His Son, and the blood of Jesus Christ purchased everything to which we are now called and accepted into.
Jesus, the Good Shepherd, Gave His Life for the Sheep.
Before we ever lifted our cross, Jesus Christ had already bowed beneath the full weight of His own cross. This truth must never escape our understanding. The One who calls us to take up our cross first carried His own. Jesus will not ask us to walk a path that He Himself avoided. Jesus set His face like flint toward Jerusalem, declaring, for this cause came I into this world.
When Jesus Christ was lifted up on the cross, He bore in His body the cost of our salvation for our sin. Our shame, our rebellion, so that the way of discipleship would be opened up to us. Jesus’ sacrifice has already cleared the way for us to lose our lives for His sake.
When Jesus said, if any man will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me, Jesus spoke as the one who had already walked the road of absolute obedience. The call to lose our lives is anchored in what Jesus Christ has already accomplished. We do not blaze a trail of anything of our own work. We follow in the one that Jesus Christ has already made. Jesus Christ endured:
The contradiction of sinners.
The rejection of the crowds.
The betrayal of His friend.
And the agony of the cross to accomplish salvation for our lives; Jesus Christ drank the cup the Father gave Him to the very last drop. Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. The obedience of Jesus, His suffering, His death, and His resurrection have established the path of our true discipleship. Jesus Christ bought it all so we could walk in His steps, not in our strength, but in the grace His sacrifice has secured. The road that Jesus calls us to travel is a road that He has already sanctified with His own blood. And because He has gone before us, we can follow Him:
With confidence.
With courage.
And with joy.
Knowing that the One who leads us has already conquered every enemy and finished the work that makes our obedience possible.
Freely Available, Open to us in Faith and Obedience.
This call, purposed by the Father, purchased by the blood of His Son, has been made freely available to us. There is nothing in heaven or of this earth that can successfully stand between us and the life that Jesus Christ offers to us, except our own refusal to believe and to obey. Jesus declared, Him that comes to me I will in no wise cast out. The door is open.
Grace stands extended. Salvation has been made accessible to all who will come through faith and surrender. Following Jesus Christ demands everything, but in return we are able to receive in our lives the Zoe life in abundance.
Jesus said, I am come that they might have life, that they might have life more abundantly. There is on our side the need of total surrender of our lives and of our receiving the gift that the Father has made available for us, to have the fullness of his divine life in our spirits with the realisation that we could never, never, ever obtain it through anything of our own effort or our own merit. Herein is the great truth of the gospel.
If we cling to our lives, we will lose them. But if we lose our self-life as Jesus taught plainly, we shall save it. Whosoever will save his life shall lose it. But whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.
In letting go of what is temporary, we receive what is eternal. Every person ever born is a candidate for this salvation, and we are no exception. Whosoever believes in Jesus Christ should not perish but shall have everlasting life. Christ has offered this gift of salvation freely. He paid the price, we received the grace.