1 Peter 1:20
20 Who verily [men] was
foreordained [proginosko] before [pro] the foundation [katabole]
of the world [kosmos], but [de] was manifest [phaneroo] in [epi] these last [eschatos] times
[chronos] for [dia] you [humas], KJV-Interlinear
20 For He was foreknown before
the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake
of you NASB
In eternity past, God
set out a plan.He considered every
possibility, every possible combination, every conceivable approach to history,
and came up with the very best plan, best for every created being.
We call that plan the
divine decrees.
In that plan, He
included the creation of the angels, the creation of the universe, and He saw
the ensuing rebellion and fall.God saw
the devastation brought into the universe, the restoration of planet earth, and
the creation of mankind.And this
included the foreknowledge of mans fall and the need for mans salvation.
Thus the Cross,
Christ s punishment, death, burial, resurrection and ascension were all
foreseen and included within the divine plan.
There is and was,
nothing in history that God did not know about, nothing that God could not foresee. There is nothing that will ever take God by
surprise.Even the recent ups and downs
of the stock market did not take God by surprise.
Christ appeared in
history, for only one reason, and that reason is you.
Because you have
believed in Christ, then God saw your belief and did not ignore it. Because you believed in Christ, God put
together an entire human history plan, so that you would benefit. The word humas means specifically for your
benefit, in order to benefit you, so that you would receive the benefits,
profits, wages, advantages of His plan.
So as a believer, you
are extremely special.As a mature
believer, you are all the more special.
And the whole point
of this is, that no matter how you might be suffering in this life, or even
prospering, your situation is nothing, when compared with what God has done for
you and what God has in store for you.
Your imagination cannot even begin to comprehend the benefits coming.