GOD ORDAINS FREEDOM

The Backdrop for All Freedom

Why is the principle of freedom so important to the human race and human history? The answer comes from the Bible. God created for the purpose of glorifying Himself through the manifestation of the unity of His attributes, and everything created was not created simultaneously. There was a separate creation for angels (Ezekiel 28:15), a separate creation for the universe (Genesis 1:1), and a separate creation for mankind (Genesis 1:27). Man is a late-comer on the scene—the earth is billions of years old--and God created man for the purpose of resolving the spiritual battle referred to as the angelic conflict. Human history is divided into four time segments referred to as dispensations: the Dispensation of the Gentiles; the Dispensation of Israel; the Dispensation of the Church; and the Dispensation of Christ (the millennial kingdom). Each dispensation is marked by a distinct set of rules by which to live. By living in obedience to the set of rules established for their respective dispensation, the obedient members of the human race are instrumental in resolving a portion of the angelic conflict. Satan had been condemned by God in eternity past (Matthew 25:41) and appealed his condemnation. (That he appealed his condemnation is an inductive conclusion determined from the lapse of time between his sentence in eternity past and the execution of that sentence at the end of human history.) God, then, turned to man to resolve the conflict. The issue: if man, having been created lower than the angels (Hebrews 2:7), would be obedient to his Creator, the higher creature, namely Satan, could have been obedient, but chose disobedience, therefore, God is justified in carrying out Satan’s sentence that was handed down in eternity past. Some might ask why God would permit such an appeal, and the answer is simple. God is just (fair), and He is fair to all, including Satan.

Freedom is the environment in which all human life is to be lived.

Freedom is the environment in which all of human life is to be lived because freedom is the policy of God in the creation of the human race to resolve the spiritual battle known as the angelic conflict. If man’s obedience to God is not born out of freedom, Satan would have the legitimate objection that man’s obedience to God is forced, and God’s judgment upon him is unfair. Freedom, then, is essential to the resolution of the spiritual conflict.