| THE RESTITUTION OF ALL THINGS -Acts 3:20,21 states, … Jesus Christ, Which before was preached unto you: Whom the heavens must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began … What an unbelievable statement! What does it mean? Let us find out. -"Restitution" means: the act of restoring something that has been taken away or lost; the act of making good or rendering an equivalent as for loss or injury. It means restoration. Now let us look at the grammatical construction of this sentence and what it declares. -Notice that there is a comma after the word things. This means that what follows the word things refers back to the original statement. With this in mind, it is now easy to see that all the prophets from the beginning of the world had prophesied that there would be a restoration of all things, and that the restoration would indeed be universal, and would include all things. The reason that so many Christians fail to see this great truth is due to the fact that they have little or no knowledge of what the Bible teaches about the AGES TO COME. Not being aware of these ages to come greatly hinders our understanding of the purpose and plan of God, and blocks us from being able to understand the restitution of all things. -Go back to the LAW, the PSALMS, and the PROPHETS. You will see the COUNTLESS prophecies which declare the restitution of all things. IT IS TRUTH! IT IS MARVELOUS! IT IS BIGGER THAN YOU COULD EVER IMAGINE! IT IS UNDENIABLE! There shall be a restitution of all things! -IT SHALL COME TO PASS!- CREATION, REDEMPTION, AND COMPLETION -The following quote from A. P. Adams causes us to take a look at the true basis of man’s creation, redemption, and completion … “The redemption of man is the completion of his creation, and depends for its final accomplishment on God and not on the individual.” A statement such as this causes us to reflect on the GREATNESS OF ALMIGHTY GOD. It introduces us to the idea that our Heavenly Father is all-powerful and SOVEREIGN. This would then mean that God is in TOTAL CONTROL of the destiny of the human race. When we recognize THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD, we are set free from the foolish notion that we are responsible "to make ourselves" in the image of God. Many people do not recognize that God is responsible for their creation, redemption, and completion. The result of this is a life of condemnation, frustration, and failure. They place all the emphasis of their Christian walk on their “so-called” free will. In doing this, we absolutely strip God of His power and sovereignty, making His Spirit and His Word of none effect. -The scriptures are actually very plain concerning this subject. All we have to do is READ THEM AND BELIEVE THEM! Ephesians 1:11 tells us that God works ALL things after the counsel OF HIS OWN WILL … Ephesians 2:10 tells us that we are God’s workmanship … HOW PLAIN CAN IT BE??? God is the One Who is working on us, FOR WE ARE HIS WORKMANSHIP! Philippians 1:6 tells us ... to be confident of this very thing, that He which has BEGUN a good work in you WILL PERFORM IT until the day of Jesus Christ : … Who started the work? GOD! Who will finish the work? GOD! What work? YOU! YOU ARE GOD’S WORKMANSHIP!!! As well, Hebrews 12:2 states, … looking unto Jesus the AUTHOR and FINISHER of our faith; … Many people do not realize that it is God Who is responsible for authoring and finishing their faith. WHERE IS THERE ANY ROOM FOR MAN TO BOAST? HOW CAN WE TAKE ANY CREDIT FOR THE WORK THAT IS BEING ACCOMPLISHED IN US, FOR WE ARE GOD’S WORKMANSHIP? -It must become clear to us that GOD is responsible for, in charge of, and in total control of the creation, redemption, and completion of man ( mankind, the entire human race ). This will result in a race that has been totally and completely conformed to the image of its Creator. It will also result in man having DOMINION over all things ( except for God of course ), for this was the purpose of God from the very beginning ( Genesis 1:26 ). It is God Who has purposed the creation, redemption, and completion of man, AND IT IS GOD WHO WILL BRING IT TO PASS! The only part we play is one of recognizing, believing, and submitting to the very Spirit of God. WE CANNOT DO THE WORK! If we were able to bring this to pass, then why would God have sent His Son to be the Savior of the world? But rest assured, for our final outcome of being made into the image of our Creator depends on God, not the individual. This is good news! -BE CONFIDENT OF THIS VERY THING!- THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD According to George Addair: -"By the sovereignty of God, we mean the supremacy of God. We mean His Kingship and Headship. It literally means , “the Godhood of God.” To declare that God is sovereign is to declare that He is God. It is to declare “that He is the most high, doing according to His will IN THE ARMY OF HEAVEN AND AMONG THE INHABITANTS OF THE EARTH, so that none can stay His hand or say unto Him, What have You done?” Daniel 4:35." ( The Absolute Sovereignty Of God, George Addair ) -Either God is sovereign or He is not. If He is not sovereign, then He is limited in some way, and that makes Him like us. If God is sovereign, then that means He is responsible for all of the creation. He is the author and finisher of everything. HE IS IN CHARGE OF EVERYTHING! -God is responsible for: -CREATING EVERYTHING -GOOD AND EVIL -THE FALL OF MAN -THE CREATION MADE SUBJECT TO VANITY -PUTTING MAN INTO DESTRUCTION -THE CRUCIFYING OF THE LORD JESUS -ULTIMATELY RESTORING EVERYTHING BACK TO HIMSELF -Understanding the sovereignty of God will SET YOU FREE from the silly things that people preach and teach about God, claiming that He is fighting against the Devil and the powers of darkness, trying to do the best He can, but will ultimately lose the vast majority of His creation. THAT IS SILLY AND OUTRIGHT RIDICULOUS! Here are some scriptures that clearly declare the ABSOLUTE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD: -Isaiah 46:10 -Daniel 4:35 -Psalm 37:23 -Psalm 33:15 -Psalm 115:3 -Acts 15:18 -Romans 9:11-24 -Romans 11:25-36 -Ephesians 1:11 -1st Timothy 6:15 -Revelation 4:11 -RELAX!!! GOD IS IN TOTAL AND COMPLETE CONTROL OF EVERYTHING! HE IS … -SOVEREIGN ALMIGHTY GOD!- The above taken from “THE GLORY OF GOD & THE HONOR OF KINGS” By Thomas Kissinger For further study see: The Restitution of All Things by Andrew Jukes - 1867 |