Previous | | Next | | E-Mail | | Contents | | V&FT

Seeing the intensely personalistic nature of the universe, and seeing the identity between God and His work through angels, we can consider the implications of Col. 1:17. The thought in this passage (that God holds all things together) is applied directly to man by Paul when he spoke to the pagans in Athens (Acts 17:28). Man was made of the same substance as the earth, and to dust he will return (Gen 3:23; Ecc. 12:7; cf. I Cor. 15:45,48). Since the angels are active in holding together the earth, they are also active in holding together man himself. And as Paul implies in Acts 17:28, this includes every aspect of man, down to his very "being."

What is man's "being"? A hotly-debated question in the ivory towers is the relationship between the brain of man and the "mind" of man. In a parable, Jesus suggests that angels are not in any way prohibited from contact with man's "soul" (Lk. 16:22). And even fallen angels are allowed by God to alter the activities of men (and necessarily, of their minds; Read II Chron. 18:18-22 [and notice that the activity of the angel {vs. 21} is ascribed to God {vs. 22}]).

Then Micaiah said, "Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing on His right hand and His left. {19} And the LORD said, 'Who will persuade Ahab king of Israel to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?' So one spoke in this manner, and another spoke in that manner. {20} Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD, and said, 'I will persuade him.' The LORD said to him, 'In what way?' {21} So he said, 'I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' And the Lord said, 'You shall persuade him and also prevail; go out and do so.' {22} Therefore look! The LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these prophets of yours, and the LORD has declared disaster against you."
2 Chronicles 18:18-22

It would appear that man's brain is controlled by the different kinds of angels, depending on the basic orientation of that man. If your life is dedicated to Christ and His Kingdom, the heavenly host of God, the "Spirit-Cloud," ministers to you and advances your sanctification (Hebrews 1:14; Ps. 34:7; 91:11-13; Dan. 6:22 (note effect on animals); Dan. 9:21-23; 10:12; Matt. 1:20; 2:13; Acts 12:10 + 16:26; Matt. 18:10, cf. Acts 12:15; Gen 16:7; 24:7,40; I Kings 19:5-8). Sometimes, on behalf of a servant of Christ, an enemy of Christ will have his brain activated by the angels (Ezra 6:22; 7:27; Ps. 35:5-6; 78:49), or the angels will simply make an ass out of him (Numb. 22:35 [2 Peter 2:15-16]). Then there are the fallen angels, whom God sometimes lets loose on people like Ahab (II Chron 18:18-22, above). Perhaps these two types of angels may be grouped together and referred to simply as the "Spirit" or "spirit" (I John 4:6), even as the Spirit and the Cloud (of angels) were identified.

Did I exaggerate when I spoke of "total predestination?" All of this brings us squarely, inescapably, face to face with the most profound and heavy of all Biblical doctrines: that of personal predestination. And it is becoming clear why some have hated Calvin so: not only did he set forth the doctrine of predestination, but he did it with unmistakable clarity. And he took it to its Scriptural maximus: Total Predestination. Every action of every object, animate and inanimate, from the orbit of the largest star to the "uncertain" path of the smallest sub-atomic particle, is personally predestined by God and His decree is personally carried out by His heavenly host.

Wow!

The whole universe is thus moving to the end determined by God from the beginning. And that end is the glorification and praise of God Himself.

But the Biblical doctrine of Total Predestination has as its counterpart the doctrine of Total Personalism. God is a person. He personally and lovingly oversees the entire universe (Matt. 10:29).

You are a person. You are created in the Image of God. God oversees your environment to create you just as He wants you. And as His Image-Bearer, you must not deface the image you bear. To be true to yourself you must be true to God.

Some have complained that the doctrine of Predestination robs man of "free choice." No doubt they will probably complain more intensely about the doctrine of Total Predestination! It shouldn't be this way.

Let's face it: Man is the product of his environment. He was born; he did not create himself. The forces that brought him into being are either the ultimately Personal (God) or the abysmally impersonal (Baal and Ashtaroth; time + random chance; existential cosmic meaninglessness; pick your religion).

If Total Predestination is true, then you are created in the Image of a Loving, Personal God. If it is not true, then you are created in the image of an impersonal primordial sea. If God created you as a person, then He can say to you, "Choose you this day whom ye will serve" (Josh. 24:15). If you are a person then His command to you to "Love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind" has meaning (Matt. 22:37). But if the universe is not totally governed by a loving and omnipotent God, then you are the random and meaningless reaction of impersonal chemicals and bursts of energy. "Choice" is not an option for you; you simply exist - for the moment. You are "an occurrence," not a person.

You know, however, that you can and must choose. You know it in your heart. This proves that a Personal God created you. You are His image-bearer.

Will you love the LORD, or will your molecules and those of other Baalists eternally encounter each other in meaningless cosmic interaction? Will you be served by angels, or deluded by demons? This is the Big Question. Let's consider it a little more "personally."