"These [in Berea] were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so." - Acts 17:11

(7) Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations. Ask your father, and he will show you; your elders, and they will tell you. (8) When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when He separated the sons of Adam, He set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel,

(26) And He made of one blood all the nations of men to dwell upon all the face of the earth, having determined beforehand their appointed times and the boundaries of their dwelling; (27) In order that they might seek the Lord, if perhaps they might feel after Him and might find Him; though truly, He is not far from each one of us, (28) For in Him we live and move and have our being; as some of the poets among you also have said, 'For we are His offspring.'

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Notice that in Deuteronomy the focus is Israel, but in Acts it is on the Gentiles. We almost automatically accept that God is working among the descendants of Abraham, but Acts 17 extends the concept far beyond that. The natural and correct conclusion from this is that God exercises His will and purpose among unconverted heathens. He may not call them to salvation at this time, but He is certainly manipulating events to His own ends in their world as well as ours.

Paul says that God determines their preappointed times as well as where they will live. This means that He has predestined when they will rise to power, prosperity, and dominance, and when they will fade into weakness, poverty, and subjection. Many more billions of Gentiles than Israelites have lived during the 6,000 years of man's history.

God, then, has overseen the mighty angelic kingdom, the demons, the Israelite nations, the Gentiles, and the church over millennia and has kept all of them moving toward the successful conclusion of His purpose! What kind of God is this we serve? How awesome His mind, purpose, wisdom, and love!

Man does not merely owe His life to God's creative acts, but his movements across time are to some extent programmed by our Sovereign God—even down to the personal, individual level, as He sees fit. Almighty God works in this manner to the end that all might seek and find Him.

— John W. Ritenbaugh

To learn more, see:
The Sovereignty of God: Part Five



 

Topics:

God's Maintenance

God's Providence

God's Purpose

God's Sovereignty

Predestination




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