1. God’s Eternal Purpose
(Book 1 of the Set Free Series)
Preface
I thank the Lord for giving me the Holy Spirit and His word as a means of revelation
and light. I also thank God for those men and women whom He has chosen, to give an
understanding to, of His great mysteries. He has used such men and women as
Thomas Law, Nancy DeMoss, Andrew Murray, Oswald Chambers, Watchmen Nee, Roy
Hession and Charles Spurgeon as well as the Apostles and prophets of His word, to
open my spiritual eyes and understanding. Their writings have had a profound
influence on me and for that I am eternally grateful.
In all humility we must come to the knowledge and acceptance that our natural
understanding of God is both inadequate and unacceptable. We must have a spiritual
awakening (revelation) to bring us to a place where we desire to as well as begin to know
our Lord. We are insufficient in our abilities to comprehend or see the great truths of His
word without His Spirit illuminating our conscious minds. I pray that by His grace and
love that He would do so as you read this book.
My prayer is that our eyes would be open to the revelation of the Holy Spirit so that we
might be able to comprehend the great truths of the Gospel. Ephesians 1:17-18 that the
God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and
revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that
you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His
inheritance in the saints.
Lord help us to see believe and understand
1. Your eternal purpose for us all
2. All that you have accomplished on the cross
3. All that you have accomplished by your resurrection
4. All that you are accomplishing today through your Holy Spirit

2. GOD'S ETERNAL PURPOSE
In order to have a better understanding of the truth and magnitude of our total redemption
provided for by the crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ in our lives;
we must first put it into perspective with God's eternal purpose for created man.
God's eternal purpose has been established from before time began and is still being
worked out today. His plan concerns His Son and includes creating mankind as a means by
which His Son might express His life. Our Lord created mankind to be the vehicle through
which it would be possible to commune (fellowship) with Himself, who is a Spirit. That
purpose was temporarily altered by the "fall" of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden,
making it necessary for the redemptive work on the Cross undertaken by our Savior Jesus
Christ. His redemptive work has made possible a new creation to fulfill the "eternal
purpose" of God. Jesus represents the first kind of that new creation and thus has through
His death, burial and resurrection-restored and made possible for you and I individually
and collectively to fulfill the eternal purpose for which mankind was originally created. He
is the "first-fruit" of that new creation. For we are told in I Corinthians 15:20 But now
"Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the first-fruits of those who have fallen
asleep." Christ is the first of the new/redeemed creation and has made it possible for you
and I to be members of that new creation through His death on the cross, His resurrection
and the power of the Holy Spirit. For this we praise Him profusely.
The Man Adam
The creation of Adam by God was the initial process in God’s plan of creating beings by
which His Son's life could be expressed. Jesus the only begotten Son would be alive
through the life of many sons. Hebrews 2:10-11 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all
things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain
(Jesus) of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies (makes
holy/righteous) and those who are being sanctified (believers) are all of one, for which
reason He is not ashamed to call them brothers.
There are two distinct parties represented in this verse, the one who justifies and sanctifies
(Jesus) and those who are sanctified (the believer- you and I). These two parties are said to
be of one. The Greek word for "of" means to come out of. Although both parties came by
different means, both Jesus and the believers are out of one-that One being God. Hebrews
2:10-11 is in reference to redeemed man and the resurrected Christ. This was not the case
with Adam. Although Adam was created to be the source by which many sons would
come, he instead became the source by which and through which sin and death entered into
the world.

3. Adam was created with a spirit which would allow him to commune with "the spiritual"
world of God and a body through which he could experience the outside world. The
combination of these two aspects, in a practical sense resulted in a soul/personality in
Adam. He became in essence a living, created entity with a "free will." 1. "Adam was
created perfect-by which we mean that he was without imperfections because he was
created by God--but he was not yet perfected.
Adam's Free Will
Adam represented the initial fulfillment of God's plan, which went beyond just a creation
of a race of people. Through Adam, God sought to bring forth a creation with one blood
and His life dwelling within them. The man Adam, as mentioned earlier had a developed
soul and thus had the powers of choice. I must reiterate that God's goal in creating man
(Adam) was "son ship" or as a matter of more clarification "to be the vehicle whereby the
expression of His life would be made possible.
There was a clear choice presented to Adam in the Garden of Eden represented by "The
tree of life", which bore a fruit that could be eaten by Adam and The Tree of Knowledge of
Good and Evil (which God had forbidden Adam to eat from). Adam by virtue of the fact
that he had a free will would be making a decision between choosing divine life and total
dependence upon God or a life of independence from God. The Tree of Life represented
God's own life and by accepting it Adam would in essence have secured a life in union with
God and thus solidified mankind’s position as spiritual sons of God. If on the other hand
Adam ate from The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil ( which God had forbidden Him
to eat from), it would indicate that he chose to live apart from God and to be led by his own
thoughts and feelings. When Adam chose to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and
Evil, it immediately ushered in a rejection of God by His creation (Adam) to be that vehicle
by which and through which God could express His life. Adam’s soul became the center of
his understanding, and intellect and forever would usurp the place of the spirit that God
had designed him to possess so that he could have communion with Him. From that time on
Adam and all creation born of Adam would have lives devoid of the Spirit of God.
However, because God has divine wisdom and incomparable power, He had a plan. It is a
plan consistent with His eternal purpose and capable of overcoming the hellish act
committed by Adam in the Garden of Eden. The fall would be but a pause in the goals that
God originally had for His creation-for God would make a way to restore His lost creation
to its original purpose.

4. God's Plan of Redemption
I would like to present some more foundational facts concerning "the fall" of man, before
moving to any teaching in re: to the beautiful redemptive plan and act provided by God
and carried out by Jesus for our sakes.
Genesis 3:22-24 Then the Lord God said, "Behold the man has become like one of us (that
is having become his own god by becoming motivated to act on his own rather than being a
body through which God's spirit would live), to know good and evil. And now lest he put
out his hand (decide), and take also of the tree of life, and eat and live forever-therefore the
Lord sent him (Adam) out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was
taken. So He drove out the man and placed cherubim (Angels) at the east of the garden of
Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.
Here we see the catastrophic turn of events for mankind in his relationship to God and the
world around him. We can see in these verses that Adam, whom God had created to be
that creation by which "many sons" of God would come, had now forfeited that purpose.
The result is that God removed Adam and Eve from Eden (which represented the perfect
world that God had created for them), and cast them out into a new world. A world in
which Adam and all who came after him, would live a life directed by themselves rather
than God. Instead of being creatures who would express the life of God through
communion with His Spirit; they had become mutations of God's original creation. They
would now live in a different world than the one originally conceived of by God. Eternal
life as well as their spiritual link to God, was broken. The tree of life was withheld by God
and removed as a source of life (God's life) from Adam and all of his offspring until the
redemptive plan of God was complete.
That new world which Adam was driven to ("So He drove out the man...Genesis 3:24) is
the same world in which we live today. It is a world designed by man, it is corrupt and
godless, evil by nature and headed by the very creature (Satan) who orchestrated the "fall"
of man through his deception of Eve in the garden. This world system that we live in today
is not the one that God had made for His creation. The greed, selfishness, heartache,
murder, abuse, hate, and pride-are all the result of man's natural behavior. This world
will pass away at the second coming of Christ-hallelujah! Let us look with thanksgiving to
the promise given to us by the word of God in the book of Revelations chapter 21 verses 1-4
“Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had
passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And
I heard a loud voice from heaven saying. "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and
He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and
be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more
death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have
passed away.”
Amen and Amen

5. The Necessity of Redemption
It would seem that God's eternal purpose had suffered derailment at the hands of
Satan through his seduction of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. He was successful in
exploiting the "free will" inherent in the man Adam-thereby at least temporarily putting a
halt to the plans which God had for His creation. So now death and sin would reign in
mankind from the fall of Adam in Genesis 3:7 until today. However, God's plans are
immutable and ongoing. He had a plan and it involved the very Son by which He would
not only implement His plan, but through which He would recover His created beings
(mankind). In other words God had as part of His eternal plan-a plan to restore His
"fallen" creation and that plan involved His Son.
Romans 5:19 For as by one man's (Adam's) disobedience many were made sinners, so also
by one Man's (Christ) obedience many will be made righteous.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Our Savior (Jesus) has provided all that is required by God for the restoration of His
people. The rest of this study will focus on that fact. Therefore we will look very closely at 4
spiritual aspects of Christ death, burial and resurrection.
They are as follows 1. Justification 2. New Birth 3. Deliverance 4. Sanctification..
Although these four aspects of the redemptive act are important parts of redemption," we
must keep in mind that they are different parts of the one all encompassing act brought
about by the Cross of Christ. "The work of the Cross is finished and never need be
repeated, nor can be added to.
These four aspects of redemption will be further dealt with in our studies by taking a in
depth look at:
1. The Blood of Christ and how it deals with sin and guilt
2. The Cross of Christ and how it deals with sin, the flesh and natural man
3. The Life of Christ made available to indwell, recreate, and empower men
4. The working of death in the natural man so that the indwelling Life of Christ may be
progressively made real in our lives.

6. John Chapter 17:1-5
Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: Father the hour has
come. Glorify Your Son that your Son may glorify You. as You have given Him (Jesus)
authority over all flesh that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him.
And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom
You have sent. I have glorified You on earth. I have finished the work which You have
given Me to do. And now O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory
which I had with You before the world was.
Jesus the redeemer
We know in retrospect that Jesus has become the redeemer of our lives. He is the source
and the instrument that God used to reinstate His purpose back into the human race.
Jesus Himself asserts that this is true as He prays to His Father in the gospel of John
Chapter 17. It is here that we have the privilege of seeing the great love that Jesus has for
His Father. Here in Chapter 17 is the obedient and loving Jesus communicating with His
Father in much the way that an obedient child would let his/her parents know, that they
have done what was asked of them. Let us read from this Chapter so that we might receive
revelation through God's word.
Again we get a glimpse of Jesus speaking to His Father about completing the work that
God had sent Him to do and signifying that it is God Himself who has given Him the
authority to redeem mankind back to its original purpose (I have finished the work which
You have given Me to do).
Furthermore Jesus commented that this eternal life that He had the power to give mankind
through redemption-could only come to those who believed and knew who God was and
who Jesus was. Not simply to know about them-for there are millions who know about
Him. But here we see the word know as in knowing intimately who He and His Father
were. Jesus had glorified His Father on earth by completely doing the will of His Father in
coming back and becoming the fulfillment of God's requirement for mankind to be
reconciled (yes even redeemed), back to Him. We see this articulated by Paul in Romans
Chapter 8:2-4 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the
law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh,
God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh on account (because) of sin.
He condemned sin in the flesh (this is the great work that Jesus did in obedience to His
Father and that He indicated that He had completed in John Chapter 17), that the
righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the
flesh, but according to the Spirit.
And now that this great work was done we find Jesus lovingly asking His Father to restore
Him back to the glorious relationship with Him before the beginning of time. He longed to
be back with His Father and soon would be- for the crucifixion had yet to occur.

7. John 17:6-8
"I have manifested (made known) Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of
the world. They were Yours. You gave them to Me, and they have kept your word. Now
they have known that all things which You have given me are from You. For I have given
to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have
known surely (without a doubt) that I came forth from You and they have believed that
You sent Me.”
Knowing Christ
In this verse we see where Jesus says that He has taught the disciples the words of God and
that as a result that they believed-without doubt and as a result knew who He and God
really were. There are many today who believe and yet do not “know.” Earlier in John
17:3 Jesus tells us that eternal life is to know both He and His Father. We are told in
James 2:19 that believing alone is not enough, “for even the demons believe and tremble.”
The real question is what do you do with and about your belief? Jesus came into this dark
world as Light and in John 1:5 we are told that the world (darkness), comprehended
(knew/understood) Him not.
I would submit to you today that if you are struggling with your perception of Christianity
or your life as a “Christian”-it is quite possible that you have a belief in God, but have yet
to know Him. This mental state is described by my brother Watchmen Nee as the “crisis of
faith.” This term alludes to the fact that once the Holy Spirit by His grace provides you or I
with a certain understanding and revelation concerning Who God and His Son Jesus
Christ are; at once you believe. At once when you believe-the crisis of faith comes upon
you. You believe in but yet still do not know the risen Christ. It is at this point that many
begin to embark upon their own understanding of our Lord. Assumptions are made based
upon our human understanding, intellect, beliefs, ideas, emotions etc. There is only one
problem with this approach-we are not capable of “knowing” God through our own
understanding. It must come by the power and revelation of the Holy Spirit and the Word
of God. I Corinthians 2:10-11 “But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For
the Spirit searches all things, yes the deep things of God. For what man knows the things
of man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of
God except the Spirit of God.” Therefore we must humbly pray for God’s revelation
through His Spirit and Word.
The Crisis of Faith
The real crisis of faith comes when you and I make a decision to hold on to our long held
assumptions, religious traditions/doctrines and ideas-rather than the sovereign word of
God revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to
please God, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of
those who diligently seek Him.” In this verse we not only see the tremendous value that
God has placed upon faith but also the catalyst necessary to produce faith. Faith then is
made possible and increased in those "who diligently" seek to know God. My brothers and
sisters-have you diligently sought out to know Him today or are you still feebly holding on
to your views of God. Is God not able to teach you who He is? For faith comes by hearing
and hearing by the word of God.

8. John 17:9-11
"I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for
they are Yours. And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them.
Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy
Father keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as
We are."
At the risk of being repetitive-I would like to state again that God's eternal purpose was to
express the life of He and His Son through his created being (mankind). Adam's rebellious
act in the garden of Eden created a temporary detour to that purpose. The resulting man
"made after Adam's likeness," (Genesis 5:3)- would develop without the Spirit of God as
His guide. The world as a result with its systems, civilizations, religions, philosophies etc is
the result of man's plans and is diametrically opposed to God's purpose. We must
remember that Adam and Eve were driven out of the world that God had created for
them. This world that we live in today is not God's world, it is man's world and God has
fully rejected it.
I John 2:15-16 "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the
world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world-the lust of the eyes,
and the pride of life-is not of the Father but is of the world."
Us as one
Our Lord has provided a way of redemption and restoration and will gather those (His
church) who have received His gift of eternal life to Himself and His Son. There is a new
world which He will establish that is spoken of in Revelations chapter 21 and it is that
world which we are to look to and wait for. So it is that we see Jesus in John 17:9-11
making the certain statement that He has nothing to do with this world or those who are a
part of it. He has come for those whose eyes have been opened and who have believed with
their hearts that He is from and of the Father. Let us not miss the significance of the last
sentence in verse 11; "Holy Father keep through Your name those whom you have given
Me, that they may be as one as We are." Here we see our Lord proclaiming His purpose as
it relates to God's eternal purpose. Namely that mankind would be grafted into the life of
the Father and the Son. Nothing describes God's purpose more directly than John 14:20
"At that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in Me and I in you.”
Paul further punctuates this thought and provides further clarification in the book of
Colossians 1:27 "To them (God's saints) God willed to make known what are the riches of
the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles (those of us who are non-Jews); which is
Christ in you, the hope of glory."
This then is our hope "Christ in us."

9. John 17:12-26
Not of this world
While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me
I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition (Judas), that the Scripture
might be fulfilled. But now I come to You and these things I speak in the world, that they
may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them Your word; and the world has
hated them because they are not of this world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray
that you should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil
one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your
truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the
world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth. I
do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word;
that they all may be one, as You Father are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one
in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I
have given them, that they may be one just as We are one; I in them, and You in Me; that
they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and
have loved them as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me
may be with Me where I am, that they may behold my glory which You have given Me; for
You loved Me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father! The world has not
known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. And I have
declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me
may be in them, and I in them."
His Joy Fulfilled
Jesus prayed that His disciples (including all of us today) would have His joy fulfilled or
accomplished in us. Jesus' joy was in doing the will of His Father and I pray that it would
become our joy as well. We see that in this prayer, Jesus did not ask that we (his disciples)
would be taken out of the world; but instead, that we would be kept from "the evil one."
Why? Because we saints are to remain in the world to complete the work of Jesus Christ in
redeeming others back to the Father through the preaching and teaching of the gospel and
more importantly through His life lived out through us.
Sanctification-God's work!
Christ also asked His Father to sanctify us by His truth (verse 19). Jesus Himself was
sanctified as the Son of God in the flesh. God had given Him the authority to sanctify
Himself. By sanctifying Himself-He also has sanctified us (his disciples). He states that it is
for our sakes that He sanctified Himself. This gift of sanctification is made possible to us
through the carrying out of God's sovereign will by Jesus. We are one with "The Father
and the Son" and therefore have been sanctified by God's word, through faith. Leviticus
11:44 "you shall be holy; for I am holy." I Peter 1:16 " Be holy, for I am holy." Our
sanctification cannot be done through our effort, it has been brought about by Jesus
Christ and made possible by His death, burial and resurrection. We all are sanctified
through Christ and by nothing more or nothing less. We will look more closely at
the sanctifying power of Christ later in our studies.

10. His loving request
We have further insight into the love that Christ has for us as He prays to His Father
on our behalf. How amazing that our Lord would include you and I in His prayer
concerning His disciples. We who live today are as much a part of God's purpose as those
disciples during the time of Christ. He prays also that we might be "as one as He and His
Father are one.'' So now the promise as well as the eternal purpose through Jesus’
redemption has been extended to you and I. Our Lord finishes this loving prayer with the
following petition to God. He simply asks that the "love of God with which He loved His
Son, may be in us as it is in His Son." It is that love which makes His eternal purpose
possible in you and I today.
God’s great commission to believers
Finally I would like to focus our attention to verse 18 as Jesus gives us an early preview of
the great commission spoken of in Acts 1:8. God’s commission given to us, being that we
are to be sent out as ambassadors of Christ. We are to be vessels used by the Holy Spirit to
express the life of Christ to others-which after all is the eternal purpose of God.

11. Set Free Series
God’s Eternal Purpose is part of an 11 Booklet series. The following is a
complete listing of those booklets.
1. God’s Eternal Purpose
2. God’s Redemptive Plan
3. His Blood
4. The Cross and Sin
5. Christ in Us
6. Us in Christ
7. The Holy Spirit
8. Deliverance
9. The Body of Christ
10.Sons of God
11.Revelations
If you are interested in receiving one or more of these booklets, please write to
me at urbanfamilyministries@yahoo.com. Booklets are Free!! However, we
at Whole Armor, do accept donations to help with printing and other costs
associated with producing this series. All donations can be made through Pay
Pal at http://godanddinosaurs.blogspot.com