When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, He said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”
“How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.”
Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.” (John 1:47-50)
I’m not a fatalist, in that I don’t see mankind acting out a play that God has already written without us having any choices or decisions to make on our own, but I don’t entirely disagree with those who take up this view. Instead, I’m someone who has a deep sense of God’s sovereignty and foreknowledge. I absolutely see scripture shouting out to me that predestination is sound doctrine. There’s just too many passages regarding election to vehemently turn away from it without denying the power of our Lord. To me, there is no room for any other viewpoints other than born again followers of Christ being “chosen” since before the beginning of creation. Passages regarding election and predestination are not like passages regarding, let’s say, the “timing of the rapture”, “eternal security”, or “losing salvation”. These passages, in my opinion, are left to have room for varying interpretations by “design”. Meaning, I see brothers and sisters in Christ carrying different views on these disputable topics because maybe the view they carry is the view they need at this particular moment in time, or in their life rather. In the end, all viewpoints you and I carry, at this very moment or sometime in the future, are for one purpose… to glorify God. I carry a viewpoint on a certain subject now, but maybe God will change my heart and open my eyes to a different view someday down the road, and at that moment of “conversion” I will witness His awesome and glorious power breaking me, and bringing me to my knees…changing my mind. Alternatively God may never change my view on a topic and this is an equally powerful display of God’s sovereignty over my life. I think when it comes to “disputable matters” we should as Christians, at least in some way, attempt to take this approach. We should be able to have healthy debates on heavy subject matters of The Bible that do not “appear” to have definitive clear cut answers to them without condemning or ostracizing one another in the body of Christ. This is something I struggle with in my life. My fleshly mind automatically wants to point fingers and categorize others that oppose various views I hold. Lord help me.
There is no doubt that God works in mysterious ways beyond our comprehension and ability to utilize human logic to reconcile. Just because I see a pre-tribulation rapture when I read God’s word doesn’t mean I’m hands down utterly correct in my stance on the matter. I am very passionate on what I see God telling me at this particular moment in my walk with Him, but I would not be able to confidently call myself a follower of Christ if I can’t admit that there is potential that I could be 100% wrong on certain subjects of The Bible. I believe The Amplified Bible translation easily describes this complicated concept that Paul laid out for us…
For now [in this time of imperfection] we see in a mirror dimly [a blurred reflection, a riddle, an enigma], but then [when the time of perfection comes we will see reality] face to face. Now I know in part [just in fragments], but then I will know fully, just as I have been fully known [by God] (1 Corinthians 13:12)
Jesus spoke “in code” or very “cryptic” to various people such as Nicodemus or the Samaritan woman at the well for a reason, and that reason was because He wanted them to dig. Dig for the truth. He doesn’t come out and just give us the plain black and white answers on a lot of things because He wants us to search His word for ourselves. Search to gain a deeper understanding.
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. (Psalms 119:105)
This characteristic of Christ shows that fatalism is not what The Bible teaches us. Instead it’s predestination which provides the space to correspond and coexist with a handshake alongside God’s gift of free will. Just because God foreknows what decisions we will make doesn’t mean that we must make that decision, and He gives us the freedom to choose. However, He knows exactly what we will choose and the outcome. So it’s clear that God’s foreknowledge and mankind’s free will work perfectly together like an exquisite freestyle, free flowing yet organized dance, and we don’t understand why or how. If you can see this when studying the scriptures than congratulations you know that God is bigger than you, and that He’s not bound by human logic or our need to understand how things of the universe and world operate. Even though God made the constructs of how the human mind works and pieces things together with logic and rationality doesn’t mean He must abide by them. God resides outside of the realm of mankind’s mental and psychological understanding of anything and everything. He is completely “other”.
This is one of, if not the main reason why people turn away from the Lord. They make a futile attempt to rationalize and compartmentalize God’s decisions and actions. Believing He should function the way our human minds do within regulatory boundaries and customs we have placed in our society. In other words, they believe God should make decisions based on how mankind makes decisions. Even genuine believers can fall prey to this mentality. If God decides to wipe out an entire group of people that represent a particular racial background, then so be it. He’s God, He did it in the OT, and He reveals the reasons why He wipes out various groups of people in His word, but again, when some read about these exterminations they cannot accept it because they feel Jesus needs to operate on the same laws and moral values that He designed to be intertwined within our conscience and our hearts.
Who are we to judge The Creator of all things? We want to all the time when we ask Him… “why?” It’s clear God allows incredibly evil things to happen because they happen for a reason and whatever that reason is we may or may never know, but we take confidence in the fact that God knows what He’s doing. What He does and what He allows is for our good. This is submitting to His will.
For the longest time…years…I used to ponder why Jesus told Nathanael that He saw him under the fig tree. I used to think it was because God is omnipresent and can see all things past, present, and future all at once or how ever He wants to even if He has taken a finite human form. Even if He has entered time. Yes, God is omnipresent and can see all things, but once God brought me to the realization and opened my eyes to the fact that under the fig tree was a figure of speech used in the Hebrew culture that meant “pondering the things of the Lord” or “meditating deeply upon the scripture”, He drew me closer to a deeper understanding. When you couple this truth with what Jesus says to Nathanael about how he will see “heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man” then we get a glimpse of what it was that Nathanael was possibly pondering on. Just as “Jacob’s Ladder” was a vision of God’s divine connection to the earthly realm, potentially Nathanael saw this man from Nazareth describe the very thing he was thinking of. The coming of the connection between Heaven and Earth…the coming of our Savior…the coming of the Messiah. Jesus knew what was in the mind and heart of Nathanael. He chose Nathanael. He revealed Himself to him, and Nathanael answered the call.
…does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use, and another for common use? 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? 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. (Romans 9:20-23)