[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKyU17b4DbQ&w=640&h=360] There is a term that is used loosely and innocently by many in the church. The intentions of this phrase is good but it slightly misrepresents the truth of who God is, who we are, and the state of the world. In fact, most believers, at some point in their life are guilty of saying it at some point or another. It is a phrase used to bring comfort and assists in the justification of why bad things happen. However, one must understand that God's will is not everything that happens and everything that happens is not God's will. The phrase I am referring to is: God is in control.

When God made Adam and Eve, He did not create puppets. God is not a puppet on a string. Therefore, He could not truly create anyone in His image if they were under control. Instead, He gave dominion to mankind (Genesis 1:26-28). Psalms 115:16 states that the heavens belong to the Lord but the earth He has given to man. But we do not have control over the earth. We simply have what Jesus gave: authority.

There is a major difference between authority and control. If God is in control, why is there racism? Why is there war or terror? Why is there murder and rape? Why is there human trafficking? Why are there natural disasters wiping out entire cities? Why is anybody sick? God is either in control and mad, or we are co-heirs and seated in heavenly realms with Him operating in His authority, and He is madly in love with the entire world.

I Timothy 2:4 and II Peter 3:9 tell us that it is God's will that all be saved and come to the knowledge of salvation. The entire world was chosen, elected, and predestined to be in Christ. However, we know that many reject His love and the knowledge of His salvation. It still does not remove their inclusion in the finished work of the cross or mean that they were chosen by God not to be saved. It just means they simply choose to reject.

When we walk in the authority of Christ, sickness becomes extinct, solutions come easy, divine inspiration and creativity change nations for good, poverty becomes a thing of the past, the hungry are fed, the lonely are loved, and the orphans and widows are taken good care of. Heaven on earth is a utopia. We can know God's will when we look at Jesus. We can see what isn't God's will when we look at the absence of His authority. But now, there is no absence of authority for the believer whose goal is God's kingdom on earth.

Jonathan Fawcett