Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries |
The Book of Life and God’s love for the unbeliever.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Vessels – nominative plural – skeuos = used for containers in the ancient world; here it is without the definite article “the” placed in front of it.
In the Greek language, the limguistic rule is that the absence of the definite article emphasizes the high quality or price that God sets on that which is mentioned; here it refers to all unbelievers.
God placed a great value upon and paid a great price for all unbelievers.
ROM 9:22-23 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, (KJV)
Vessels – nominative plural -skeuos = used for containers in the ancient world; here it is without the definite article “the” placed in front of it.
In the Greek language, the limguistic rule is that the absence of the definite article emphasizes the high quality or price that God sets on that which is mentioned, here it refers to all unbelievers.
ROM 9:22 What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?
ROM 9:22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
(KJV)
ROM 9:23 And He did so in order that He might make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory,
(NAS)
ROM 9:23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,
God has placed a great value upon all members of the human race including every unbeliever and He also paid a great price for all of them.
ISA 52:14 At first everyone was appalled. He didn’t even look human – a ruined face, disfigured past recognition.
ISA 53:4 The fact is, it was our pains He carried – our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us. We thought he brought it on himself, that God was punishing him for his own failures.
ISA 53:5 But it was our sins that did that to him, that ripped and tore and crushed him – our sins! He took the punishment, and that made us whole. Through his bruises we get healed.
ISA 53:7 He was beaten, he was tortured, but he didn’t say a word. Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered and like a sheep being sheared, he took it all in silence.
PSA 22:14 every joint in His body was pulled apart.
PSA 22:18 They took His wallet and the shirt off His back, and then threw dice for His clothes.
ISA 50:6, for every one of them He allowed others to pull out His beard, Didn’t dodge their insults, faced them as they spit in His face.
For all members of the human race including every single unbeliever, He was delivered unto the Gentiles, mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on.
For every single member of the human race including every single unbeliever Jesus “gave” His back to the smiters, His cheeks to them that plucked off the hair. He “gave” His face to the “shame and spitting.”
JOH 10:18 “No one takes my life from Me. I lay it down of My own free will. I have the right to lay it down; I also have the right to take it up again. I received this authority personally from my Father.”
MAT 26:53 “Don’t you realize that I am able right now to call to my Father, and twelve companies – more, if I want them – of fighting angels would be here, battle-ready?”
He “Gave himself a ransom for all” (1TI 2:6).
He “Gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world,”
(GAL 1:4).
He “Gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity,”
(Titus 2:14).
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).
There are two important doctrines that reveal how precious every individual is to God.
It is that God sees potential.
God sees the possible.
ROM 3:10 “There is none righteous, not even one;”
ROM 3:23 For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
God sees the potential.
God sees the possible.
1. The Doctrine of the Book of Life.
2. The Doctrine of the Unlimited Atonement.
First of all, in eternity past the book of life is a registry containing the names of every member of the human race who would ever be born. In time, the book of life has to do with members of the human race who are alive as well as a registry of all believers and also those rewarded as a winner believer or overcomer.
In eternity, it is the registry of all believers forever. Therefore, in eternity future only the names of believers are in the book of life, PHI 4:3; REV 13:8; REV 17:8; REV 20:12,15, 21:7. If not, you are going to be confused by this because in eternity, this book also contains the new title of royalty for each winner believer or overcomer.