Is God Such as Ourselves?

Is it so? That God is altogether such an one as ourselves? – Whose plans may be upset? Whose will may be thwarted? Who may be compelled to change His plan because of some interfering agency or evil power entering in and, for the time being, getting the better of Him? …

Let this point be settled then, that God is supreme; He “worketh all things” – absolutely all things, without any exceptions – “after the counsel of His own will” (Ephesians 1:11). I exhort the readers to an uncompromising jealousy of this supreme sovereignty of God; … emulating the example of Job in this respect when he attributed all that came to him, the evil as well as the good, to the Lord, saying, “Shall we receive good at the hand of the Lord, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:10).

We need not fear to take this position; there is abundance of scripture to warrant it … but if we had no other Scripture than this case of Job, it would be sufficient warrant for us to take the position that even evil is entirely under God’s control, and He uses it, as He does the good, for the carrying out of His own gracious plans and purposes.

Arthur P. Adams (1847-1925)
The Purposes of God and True Basis of Redemption

God’s Purpose

In accord with the purpose of the eons, which He makes in Christ Jesus, our Lord (Ephesians 3:11).

“Purpose” means that God “made up His mind” concerning the outcome of creation. The ages are unfolding the determination of God. The puny rudder of man’s misnamed “freewill” cannot resist the surging tides of God. Always remember that what we find in the ages is not a possibility, but a purpose. Humanity is not a divine speculation but rather one of God’s investments. God is the God of certainty and not of chance, and He has “made up His mind” and the ages are working out His plan.

Alan Burns (? -1929)
Faith Fellowship (Vol. 60, No. 1)