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Assembly Times

 Sunday

   Bible Classes (10:00 am)

   AM Worship (11:00 am)

 Wednesday

   Bible Classes (7:00 pm)

Location

180 Townwood Drive

Charlottesville, VA 22901

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Creation and Forgiveness
By Jim McGuiggan

The fuller story about God creating is not in Genesis 1-2 but in Colossians 1:16. Genesis 1-2 tells all the truth it wanted to tell but Colossians 1:16 adds a mass of profound—at times spellbinding truth. The creation was created “by” and “in” and “for” Jesus.

God created all things through Jesus as the agent of creation. He created all things with Jesus as their parameter, with him as the shaping thought—the way a cornerstone determines the line of the walls of a building so the thought of Jesus was what determined the shape the creation would take. God created all things “for” Jesus—his was to be the glory and the reason the creation was purposed.

The “Jesus” in view in Colossians 1 is the exalted, glorified and immortal Jesus. He is Jesus of Nazareth who lived, died, was raised and clothed with glory and immortality. The end of the story of Jesus is not his birth and death—the living and dying is the essential first phases of the work of the Jesus the N.T. proclaims. Once more, the Jesus Paul here speaks of is the one who lived, died and was/is glorified.

This must mean—how can it mean anything less?—that in purposing to create “for” Jesus God must have known we would sin. He knew that we would choose to sin. He did not choose sin for us! What he foreknew was that we would choose sin.

It can hardly be that the creation was purposed “for” a once dead but resurrected and glorified Jesus unless that was known before creation was carried out. But if the death of Jesus was foreknown before the creation was carried out then surely our choosing to sin was foreknown (cf. 1 Pet. 1:18-20; 2 Tim. 1:9-10).

God purposed to create a human family which when the smoke has cleared will be in the image of the glorious Lord Jesus Christ (cf. Rom. 8:29). What follows from this astounding truth is another astounding truth.

In Purposing to Create,
God Purposed to Forgive us.

He said, “I will create them to bring them to glory in and through my Son Jesus Christ. They will sin and I will need to forgive them and this I purpose to do!”

He didn’t come to damn us (John 3:17). He came to rescue us and fulfil his purpose “for” Jesus.