God Does The Impossible

May 2019 — Grace & Truth Magazine


God Does The Impossible

The Meaning Of “Impossible”
When Scripture says, “All things are possible with God” (Mk. 10:27 ESV ), it is obviously not referring to things that are intrinsically, or by their very character, impossible. Instead, it refers to what “ with man ... is impossible” (v.27, italics added for emphasis). For example, it has been rigorously proven that it is impossible to “square a circle.”* Similarly, it is intrinsically impossible for God to lie – He “never lies” (Ti. 1:2). The point is that “what is impossible with man is possible with God” (Lk. 18:27).

God’s Plan For Man Seemingly Spoiled
God’s plan “before the foundation of the world [was] that we should be holy and blameless before Him ... He predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons” (Eph. 1:4-5). He created humans and angels, all of whom He wanted to be intelligent, spiritual beings. God did not want robots, even though they could have been programmed to do exactly what He wanted them to do. As made, creation resulted in a hierarchy: God the Most High, angels next, and humans lower (consider Ps. 8:5).

Sadly, sin came into the picture. Some angels “did not stay within their own position of authority” (Jude 6). They chose to sin, and the one “who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world” (Rev. 12:9) has led humans into choosing to sin – “all have sinned” (Rom. 3:23). We thus became “slaves of sin” (6:20), spiritually “dead in trespasses and sins ... following the prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:1-2). Seemingly God’s plan had been spoiled.

God Does The Impossible
Our sins constituted a debt that had to be paid, and the cost of even one sin is death (Gen. 2:16-17). No human being can pay the debt for any other person since all, having sinned, are under condemnation. Interestingly, God, who is spirit (Jn. 4:24), cannot pay the debt for even one man either, for that requires death, and God, being immortal, cannot die!

But notice and rejoice: the eternal Son of God could do the impossible, having become a human being – God and Man at the same time! He, our Lord Jesus, “for a little while was made lower than the angels ... so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone” (Heb. 2:9). He could taste death for us because, although He was “in every respect ... tempted as we are, yet [He is] without sin” (4:15). As the sinless one, He was able to die for us, to be the “Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn. 1:29). He thus is able “to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession who are zealous for good works” (Ti. 2:14).

He accomplishes the impossible!

ENDNOTE
* Squaring a circle is the effort to construct a square of the same area of a given circle. The difficulty relates to the value of pi. Explanations as to this matter are available on the internet.

By Alan H. Crosby

Great things He hath taught us, Great things He hath done, And great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son; But purer, and higher, and greater will be Our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see.
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, Let the earth hear His voice! Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, Let the people rejoice! O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son, And give Him the glory, great things He hath done.—Fanny J. Crosby (1820–1915)