PART II.    THE HISTORICAL OUTWORKING OF THE PLAN OF THE AGES

CHAPTER ONE
THE PRE-CREATION COUNCIL

       Perhaps the most dangerous and yet most common misconception about God is that His Almighty Power and Godhead put Him above any moral restraint, and that because He is God He can "please Himself" and "do what He likes with His own". But this is the description not of the Christian God, but of a Tyrant, who by virtue of his power rides roughshod over his subjects, and deals with them according to his own interests. But the amazing thing about God is that the exact opposite of this is true of Him, and that the only things He likes to do are loving things for the good of others, even at His own expense! Because He is righteous He must treat all with absolute impartiality and justice, for as Jehoshaphat said, "There is no iniquity with the Lord our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts" (2 Chronicles 19:7). God Himself is by His own nature bound by the Law of Righteousness, which He has laid down for others, for example in the Ten Commandments; and this Law His Son made honourable at the expense of His own life (Isaiah 42:21).

       But further, if it be true that the Law of Justice binds God in all His actions, what are we to say when we consider the effect upon Him of His heart of Love? God is not merely

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loving, but Love (1 John 4:8)! That means that all His actions and emotions spring from a single-minded desire for the companionship and happiness of others. Justice only goes one mile, Love gladly trudges two or ten! There is a limit to the demands of Justice: an eye for an eye, duty squarely faced. There is no limit to the demands of Love upon its owner: duty is left standing, and grace goes bounding on! There is no power in the world for dictating a man's actions like the power of Love. Love does not stop when Justice has been satisfied. The first thought of duty kills Love, which only begins to live its life when duty is left behind, and loving-kindness takes its place. It is the difference between a housekeeper and a wife! Marriage has failed when husband and wife only "do their duty".

       And so it was with the Almighty. Creation sprang, not out of duty, nor out of power, nor even out of wisdom, but out of Love. God created, not because of anything that He could get out of it, not as an interesting experiment, but solely from a desire to put into it all that He had, even His Life, if thereby He could see an eternal Kingdom of happy beings where before there were only the empty spaces of infinity! The Authorised Version mistranslation of Revelation 4:11 "for Thy pleasure they are and were created", corrected in the Revised Version to "because of Thy will they exist and were created", sprang out of the old hateful misconception of a King as a Being whose subjects had no rights and owed Him everything, while He had no duties to them but put Himself first.

       Our Lord corrected this devilish idea in Luke 22:24, "and there was strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest. And He said unto them 'The Kings of the Nations exercise Lordship over them; and they that exercise authority over them are called benefactors. But ye

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shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you let him be as the younger, and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat or he that serveth? Is not he that sitteth at meat? But I am amongst you as he that serveth'." And in Luke 12:37 Our Lord shows that this situation will be eternal, "Blessed are those servants whom the Lord when He cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you that He shall gird Himself and make them sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them". With such words the Lord painted the picture of a true king as one who puts the happiness of His creatures before His own, like the shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep.

       The Almighty does of course guard His own position and glory, but purely for the sake of His subjects. As an officer responsible for the happiness of the world, He insists upon due respect and obedience: for where the Law is despised peace and security take flight. But as an individual He washed men's feet, was born in a stable, had nowhere to lay His head, and will again gird Himself and serve us at His Heavenly Table!

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