Time 2

--> God In Time

 ^“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”  JOHN 3:16-17

“There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.  And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil.  All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.” JOHN 3:18-21

How can a person already be judged? How is this possible? 

God knows all… He does not just know what is in a person’s heart but what "has" and "will" happen in our life.  He is El Olam- the Everlasting/Eternal God.  He sees past, present, and future all at once.  He knows the outcome of our lives.  He knows if we are going to come to Him or not in the time we are allowed here on earth.  So God, who knows all, can judge based on what he knows from beginning to end.  As Christians, God knew the time of our salvation in Jesus, before we were ever born.

Imagine Jesus who spoke everything into existence, in essence, wrote the book of time and then he inserted himself into the book of time.  The book of time is “figurative speak”- I don’t know if there is an “actual” book of time but there isn’t a better way I can come up with to convey this truth at the moment.
    

God sent Himself into time to save those he created in time.   Jesus, The Son Of God, subjected Himself to time when the Spirit of God impregnated Mary who was a virgin.  Jesus was born fully God and fully man. 
 

Think of it…. The author of life came to save his creation but almost all his creation did not even recognize Him.
 

John 1:10 says, “He came into the very world he created, but the world didn't recognize him.”

Jesus being God in time, he had wisdom beyond his years. LUKE 2:46-50.   Yet being God in time he did not perform any “public” miracles until after his water baptism by John the Baptist.  Why is this? I do not know. 

I do say “public” miracles because his mother Mary seemed to know he could do miracles as when she asked him to provide wine at the wedding in Cana.  (JOHN 2:1-12).   John writes in 2:11: “This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was Jesus’ first “display” of his glory.  And his disciples believed in him.”  Another version uses the word “manifest” instead of display, which is to “make known, realized, and/or exposed to view”.

It is obvious Jesus was concerned about the “timing” of revealing such power publically.  “How does this concern you and me?” Jesus replied.  “My time has not yet come.”  It is as if God and SON had “events” schedule to thread in the ribbon of time.  I might even say the “story” of time.

And Jesus doesn’t just refer to time once but several times and the apostle John was aware of this “timing” as well in his writings.   John wrote, “….”yet no one seized him because his hour had not yet come.” -JOHN 8:20 

And… “At this they tired to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.” JOHN 7:30.  Is this not an odd statement?  Odd but not so odd if God had a plan in place.
 

This idea of timing, points to events as being governed and predestined by God.   We see this not only in New Testament scriptures but Old Testament scriptures where prophecies were written about Christ.  These prophecies date back all the way to Adam and Eve.   Probably the most well known prophecies are the ones written 700 years before Jesus Christ’s birth.

“Who has believed our message?
    To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm?
² My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot,
    like a root in dry ground.
There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance,
    nothing to attract us to him.
³ He was despised and rejected—
    a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.
We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.
    He was despised, and we did not care.

⁴ Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;
    it was our sorrows that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,
    a punishment for his own sins!
⁵ But he was pierced for our rebellion,
    crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
    He was whipped so we could be healed.
⁶ All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
    We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him
    the sins of us all.

⁷ He was oppressed and treated harshly,
    yet he never said a word.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.
    And as a sheep is silent before the shearers,
    he did not open his mouth.
⁸ Unjustly condemned,
    he was led away.
No one cared that he died without descendants,
    that his life was cut short in midstream.
But he was struck down
    for the rebellion of my people.
⁹ He had done no wrong
    and had never deceived anyone.
But he was buried like a criminal;
    he was put in a rich man’s grave.

¹⁰ But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him
    and cause him grief.
Yet when his life is made an offering for sin,
    he will have many descendants.
He will enjoy a long life,
    and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands.
¹¹ When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish,
    he will be satisfied.
And because of his experience,
    my righteous servant will make it possible
for many to be counted righteous,
    for he will bear all their sins.
¹² I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier,
    because he exposed himself to death.
He was counted among the rebels.
    He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.”

ISAIAH 53:1-12

Literally the LORD’s good plan to save us was accomplished in his hands.  His act of pure sacrifice cleansed all those who believe in Him from Adam and Eve to when time as know it finally ends. 

 “For God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to satisfy God’s anger against us.  We are made right with God when we believe that Jesus shed his blood, sacrificing his life for us.   God was being entirely fair and just when he did not punish those who sinned in former times.  And he is entirely fair and just in this present time when he declares sinners to be right in his sight because they believe in Jesus.”  ROMANS 3:24-26