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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.
