Rediscover what the cross teaches us about God’s sovereign plan. Here’s what it means that the cross was part of God’s plan, foretold long beforehand.
by Rev. Barend van der Westhuizen
Have you ever heard or used the word “coincidence” in a conversation? Often, it’s just a way of saying something happened by chance, but it can also reveal your worldview.
What is a worldview?
A worldview is the set of beliefs about life and the world that everyone holds. These ideas shape how we make sense of reality.
Think about your worldview
The Bible gives us the framework for the correct worldview. The Holy Spirit uses God’s Word to form proper beliefs in our hearts. This allows us to make sense of what happens in our lives, in history, and in the world.
The Bible teaches us that there is no such thing as “chance.” Things in our lives, in history and the future, do not happen randomly, but according to God’s sovereign plan.
In this article, we see how God ordains that everything happens according to His plan. This includes the coming of Jesus Christ. We also see how this certainty gives us comfort, knowing that all things unfold according to God’s will.
God ordains that everything happens according to His plan
In Ephesians 1:11 (NIV) Paul writes:
[He is] the One who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will …
Paul is not saying that God allows only some things to happen according to His plan, but everything. Everything in heaven and on earth unfolds because God ordains it.
Jesus Himself says in Matthew 10:29 (NIV):
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.
Even the birds are under God’s sovereign hand! Take time to read how He cares for the grass of the field and the birds of the sky (Matthew 6:25–34).
God not only ordains the smallest and finest details of our lives but also the course of world history.
Daniel recognises this in Daniel 2:20–21:
Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are His. He changes times and seasons; He deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.
Paul teaches similarly in Acts 17:26–28:
From one man He made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from any one of us. For in Him we live and move and have our being.
The cross of Jesus Christ was foreordained
From the biblical worldview – that everything unfolds according to God’s will – we know that both the birth and death of Jesus were predetermined. There are countless passages in the Old and New Testaments that testify to this.
The Old Testament contains clear prophecies of the Messiah. In the New Testament, we see how these prophecies were fulfilled in the coming of Jesus Christ.
After His resurrection, Jesus explained to two disciples on the road to Emmaus why He had to die on the cross. The disciples were distressed because they could not believe that Jesus had to be condemned to death. Luke 24:25–27 records His words:
He said to them, ‘How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter His glory?’ Then He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself, beginning with Moses and all the Prophets.
Jesus shows us, from the Old Testament, that His coming, suffering, death, and resurrection were all part of God’s plan. What God had decreed from eternity, He recorded in the Scriptures beforehand.
Fulfilments in the Old Testament
The Old Testament contains many passages that clearly point to the coming, suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The Old Testament as a whole anticipates the Messiah. Therefore, every preaching from the Old Testament carries a clear message about Christ.
Here are some passages you can read to see how clearly they point to Jesus:
- Genesis 3:15; 49:812
- Deuteronomy 18:15
- 2 Samuel 7:11–16
- Psalm 2, 22, 45
- Isaiah 9:1–6
- Isaiah 11:1–16
- Isaiah 52:13–53:12
- Daniel 7:9–14
- Micah 5:1–5
- Zechariah 9:9
Be comforted knowing that everything happens according to God’s plan
The Heidelberg Catechism beautifully expresses the personal comfort we receive, knowing that all things happen not by chance, but according to God’s will (providence):
Question: What advantage is it to us to know that God has created, and by his providence does still uphold all things?
Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 28
Answer: That we may be patient in adversity; thankful in prosperity; and that in all things, which may hereafter befall us, we place our firm trust in our faithful God and Father, that nothing shall separate us from his love; since all creatures are so in his hand, that without his will they cannot so much as move.
