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       "For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it began to mock him, saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. —So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be My disciple." [Luke 14:28-30,33]. "0 the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!" [Romans 11:33].
      We are often reminded of the turbulent circumstances which suddenly engulfed Job in a testing allowed by God, and of the statement made, "In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly (nor attributed folly to God)." [Job 1:22]. There was much that Job did not understand, for the situations had piled up so fast and furiously that his senses were reeling, and he groped to comprehend what was even then taking place, but for all this he did not charge God foolishly.
      Then we think of the illustration given by Jesus, as He taught His followers, on the need to sit down and count the cost before beginning an adventure, lest after it is begun, they are not able to carry it through to completion, and thus become the laughingstock of the crowd. With all this in the background of our consideration, we now begin to think of the very PLAN AND PURPOSE OF GOD, of what He has purposed to do. Then also think of all the traditions of man which literally are charging God foolishly, teaching that the purpose which God started out to accomplish He is unable to fulfill. No wonder Jesus declared, "IN VAIN they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." [Matthew 15:9]. They call Him GOD, but they deny it by their very teachings, and they exalt the Devil as the all-powerful one who is now gathering the host of mankind into the thralldom of sin, while God is barely able to glean a handfull and escape out the back door by a secret rapture and take them to heaven, where they are all to worship Him as the One who triumphed over all. WHAT CONTRADICTIONS! What folly they attribute to our Omnipotent God. God is GOD, and in no way shall the Adversary triumph, nor will God suffer any failure or defeat at the hand of the creation which He Himself has made.
      We are instructed to first sit down and "count the costs," to calculate whether we have sufficient resources to finish our building project. Surely God acted in no less wisdom in the projection and the execution of HIS great PLAN OF THE AGES. Indeed, there are references all through the Scripture where God "laid out" His plan, and what was pre–determined before the world began, so that He knew just exactly what would happen at each advancing stage of development. In the great counsels of God, before the world began, before the foundations of the earth were laid, so wonderful was the plan of God, that beholding it in its first primeval stages, "the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy." [Job 38:7].
      Then one day Jeremiah declared, "For who hath stood in the counsel (or, secret assembly) of the Lord, and hath perceived and heard His word? Who hath marked His word and heard it? — The anger of the Lord shall not return, until He have executed, and till He have performed the thoughts of His heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly." [Jeremiah 23:18,20].
      Then Jeremiah goes on, telling of how all these false prophets are running with their so-called message, but they are not bringing deliverance to the earth, nor are they establishing righteousness, and the reason is that God has not sent them, they are only mouthing their own preconceived opinions. But if they had stood in the council of God, if the divine revelation of God had imparted to them an understanding of HIS PURPOSE, then when they spoke they would have a message which would bring results. God's purpose shall be done, what He projected into motion shall be fulfilled. "In the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly."
      It is interesting to note that in the phrase "counteth the cost," the Greek word for "counteth" is "psephizo" meaning TO USE PEBBLES, TO CALCULATE. This signifies all the foresight and planning given, as one would draw a diagram, make a blueprint and then estimate the cost against the resources. With each pebble representing so much, carefully layout the number of pebbles which equal the supply, and then count them out according to the cost, and if there are enough, perhaps with some to spare, then the success of the project is assured. It is a simple enough illustration, but it indicates all the wisdom and planning that is involved beforehand.
      As to the extent of the resources of God, who can comprehend HIS sufficiency? But very well spoken are the words of the hymn writer,
 
            "His love hath no limit, His grace hath no measure,
            His power hath no boundary known unto men,
            For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,
            He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again."
 
      "Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being His counsellor hath taught Him? With whom took He counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of judgment, and taught Him knowledge, and shewed to Him the way of understanding?" [Isaiah 40:12-14.].
      HE ALONE IS GOD! He hath no need to ask of any man for He is ALL-SUFFICIENT. The Psalmist viewed it after this manner: "For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are Mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: FOR THE WORLD IS MINE, AND THE FULNESS THEREOF." [Psalm 50 :10-12].
      The next word to consider is the Greek word for "cost" which is "dapane," for one not only counts their resources but must count what the cost will be to obtain the desired victory. Here again a very important truth is tucked away in the manner in which this Greek word is used, for it means TO SPEND, and in the various places where it is used in the Scripture it denotes a SPENDING OF ALL if necessary. Paul gives us a glimpse of the "spirit" of such spending when he says, "And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less be loved." [2 Corinthians 12:15].
      As for the need of mankind, the Lord is fully aware of our need, indeed, He is prepared to minister to everyone, no exceptions, for He "gave Himself a ransom FOR ALL, to be testified (witnessed to) in due time." [1 Timothy 2:6].  God so loved the world, all the world, both in its totality and in our individualness, and He gave—He spent and will spend all that is necessary to redeem the whole world. His planning was and is fully adequate. "Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world." [Acts 15:18]. His knowledge of us is likewise adequate. "0 Lord, Thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, Thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. — 0 Lord, Thou knowest it altogether." [Psalm 139:1-4].
      The entrance of sin into the human race was not an accident, it was planned by God for the divine interplay of good and evil. "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these." [Isaiah 45:7]. Now let us be careful and not charge God foolishly. He does not tempt us with a solicitation to do evil. But God brought forth both the positive and the negative, and knowing full well that if creation was made subject to the bondage of vanity that the creature would sin, anticipating this whole situation HE ALSO FULLY PREPARED FOR ITS CORRECTION AND REDEMPTION. Therefore in the plan of God, His Son was "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." [Revelation 13:8]. Or as we also read, we are redeemed "with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you." [1 Peter 1:19:20].
      "Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain." [Acts 2:23]. As far as man is concerned this makes the crime of no less importance, and man shall be judged and corrected according to his ways, but the fact remains, THEY DID WHAT GOD HAD PREDETERMINED WAS TO BE DONE, for had He not allowed it, they could not have fulfilled the evil intent of their heart. "Surely the wrath of man shall praise Thee: the remainder of wrath shalt Thou restrain." [Psalm 76:10].
      Full well our God knew what He would have to spend, and He fully counted the cost, but He also knew that in the end He would prevail. "what is there left to say? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not grudge his own Son but gave him up for us all—can we not trust such a God to give us, with him, everything else that we can need?" [Romans 8:31-32].
      The triumph of Christ cannot be comprehended with the natural mind. He prevails in every part. Love has blazed the trail from lowest hell to the highest heaven, and now shall grace abound to all the far-flung corners of God's universe. Yes, and though that grace may be rejected, scorned, ignored, trampled upon and utterly despised, still God's own love can suffer it all, and yet still further spend itself to cover a multitude of sin. "Charity [Love] shall cover the multitude of sins."[1 Peter 4:8]."LOVE COVERETH ALL SINS." [Proverbs 10:12].
      When God so loved the world that He gave His Son, it was not for the purpose of condemning the world, but that the world THROUGH HIM MIGHT BE SAVED. "And He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the WHOLE WORLD." [1 John 2:2].
      Therefore when God's purpose of the age is completed we will find that His love has embraced the world—that He is Lord of all! When God counted the cost of what He would have to spend, He knew He would not lose a thing, for He will gain the whole wayward creation back to Himself. Loss is negative, loss is temporary. Love's gain is positive and shall endure. God is not robbed when He gives His all to us, for in due time we shall redound to His glory, and He shall receive us back unto Himself. "For from Him through Him and to Him are all things. —For all things originate with Him and come from Him; all things live through Him, and all things center in and tend to consummate and to end in Him. To Him be glory forever! Amen!" [Romans 11:36, Amplified translation].
      What a lie has been perpetrated in both ancient and modern theology, what a very gross misconception, a travesty of God's character, a caricature of His wisdom, when men dare to say that God began a purpose, interrupted by Satan, and later only salvaged in part. Though once there was an era when sin in any shape of form did not exist, when no cry of pain or sense of guilt ever darkened the all-extensive bliss and holiness of creation, yet once sin entered, they say, it has come to stay, never to go out again, but it is endless. And so they picture the final so-called perfection to yet be attained as having room for a vast cesspool of degraded beings existing in some hell, eternally in opposition to God. They give rebellious creatures more power of will than the will of the Creator. They exalt the power of Satan to delude and destroy, and minimize the power of Christ to redeem and restore.
      May God cleanse us of all such carnal-mindedness, such Satan-glorifying nonsense, and may God quicken to us the glorious truths of the triumph of His purpose. In fact, as one man wrote, "Gladly do we turn from this figment of natural reason to the grand, simple statements of the Word of God. It looks forward to a time when our God shall be all in all, when heaven and earth shall be completely purged from every stain of sin's pollution. It anticipates that glad occasion when every heart of man shall beat in unison with the heart of God; every mind will harmonize with the Divine Wisdom and purpose; every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord; the Second  Death shall be swallowed up in victory, and the victims of its rule shall come forth in the glory of His resurrection, the redeemed of the Lord. The ringing declaration that the "last" enemy that shall be destroyed is death (1 Cor.15 :26), overthrows that whole structure of accepted, but unproven, theology. When the last enemy is abolished, it is self-evident that none remains. Sin was allowed for wise ends, and when these have been secured it must cease to exist. Where no sin exists there can be neither punishment nor redemption. Both are relegated to the ages and for the accomplishment of the purpose of the ages. But when all things—in heaven and on earth—are welded, fused into one in Christ, the purpose of the ages will have come to full fruition."
      Now, God has a definite schedule for events, and there is nothing that can withstand His purpose. All shall be fulfilled as He hath ordained, and right on time. Don't be upset when the vision tarries, it will tarry only as long as God wills, and then nought shall ever delay it one split-second. We must not start to belittle God's purpose, nor His power to redeem just because things do not happen when we think they ought to happen. Just and holy are all His ways. We do not have to try and justify His actions, what seems to us as delays, or what seems to happen too fast, HE DOETH ALL THINGS WELL, and we need only to bow in humble submission to His glorious, triumphant purpose.
      Yes, the cost was fully counted, and the victory is assured. We see also how Moses used this line of thought in his intercession before the Lord. "And Moses said unto the Lord, Then the Egyptians shall hear it (for Thou broughtest up this people in Thy might from among them); and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land: for they have heard that Thou Lord art among this people, that Thou Lord art seen face to face and that Thy cloud standeth over them; and that Thou goest before them, by day time in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night. Now if Thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of Thee will speak, saying, because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land which He sware unto them, therefore He hath slain them in the wilderness." [Numbers 14:13-16].
      The purpose of God shall not be disannuled. What He hath said shall be done. Iniquity shall be purged from the earth, though it be "BY FIRE," and yet, right now, "because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily,  therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil." [Eccl. 8:11]. But, "be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." [Galatians 6:7].
      There are times, these days, when we would feel like asking with the Psalmist, "Why do the heathen rage (riot, tumultously assemble), and the people imagine a vain thing?" [Psalm 2:1]. And we would cry out with Joel, "Spare Thy people, O Lord, and give not Thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?" [Joel 2:17].
      But rest assured of this one thing, God hath not forsaken His own, and in due time this present travail shall be brought to a climax, and the fruition of it shall be revealed in glorious victory. For "shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the Lord: shall I cause to bring forth and shut the womb? saith thy God." [Isaiah 66:9]. Oh, praise the name of the Lord. What He begins He also is able to complete, and we have "come to this settled and firm persuasion concerning this very thing, that He who began in you a work which is good will bring it to a SUCCESSFUL CONCLUSION right up to the day of Christ Jesus." [Philippians 1:6, Wuest Expanded Translation].
      Therefore in view of this tremendous assurance, let us refresh our memory with the scope of the triumph which is before us. "Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God." [Luke 3:5-6].
      For God hath "made known into us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself: that in the dispensation of the fulness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him." [Ephesians 1:9-10].
      Phillips translated this passage like this: "For God has allowed us to know the secret of His plan, and it is this: He purposes in His sovereign will that all human history shall be consummated in Christ, that everything that exists in Heaven or earth shall find its perfection and fulfillment in Him." What a triumphant purpose, and how we would shout with joy as the Spirit causes this to become life with-in our being.
      What is the scope of the "all things" which shall be consummated and find perfection in Christ? Colossians 1:16 helps to define this coverage, "for by Him were ALL THINGS created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him." Yes, it is ALL THINGS which are to be reconciled into Him. This is the unalterable truth of God's precious Word.
      "That at (Greek, IN) the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth." [Philippians 2:10]. IN HIS NAME! "No man can say that Jesus is Lord, but by the Holy Spirit." [1 Cor. 12:3]. You name it, whether it be subterranean, or hades, or things visible and invisible, things present or things to come—ALL THINGS ARE TO BE RECONCILED TO GOD, thoroughly changed, unified, and brought back into Him for final perfection and glory.
      "And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne, and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. AND EVERY CREATURE WHICH IS IN HEAVEN, AND ON THE EARTH, AND UNDER THE EARTH, AND SUCH AS ARE IN THE SEA, AND ALL THAT ARE IN THEM, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever." [Revelation 5:11-13].
      How vast is the outreach of this acknowledgment of His redemption. Ere time shall cease, and God's great purpose of the ages shall be consummated, we shall see the magnitude of this redemption, to the glory of God. Through the crucified Christ, by the means of Him, as the result of His death and resurrection, will ALL THINGS be brought back to the Father again, and so shall our God be "ALL IN ALL." [1 Cor.15:28], or as the Amplified translation gives, "So that God may be all in all-that is, BE EVERYTHING TO EVERYONE, supreme, the indwelling and controlling factor of life." Indeed, He shall be wholly and absolutely God.
      No wonder the prophet asks: "Who hath believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?" [Isaiah 53:1]. But the good news of HIS TRIUMPH will not be circumvented, not even by the unbelief of some. For "HIM we preach and proclaim, warning and admonishing every one and instructing everyone in all wisdom, (in comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God), that we may present every person mature—full-grown, fully initiated, complete and perfect in Christ." [Colossians 1:28, Amplified].
      At present time darkness covers the earth, and gross darkness the people, but for those illuminated by the Holy Spirit the vision ever grows brighter. HIS PURPOSE IS TRIUMPHANT, and to Him alone shall we ascribe all the glory and praise.
 
 
                                                                        GOD'S TRIUMPHANT PURPOSE
 
                                                                    Let him that buildeth a tower
                                                                    Be careful to count the cost,
                                                                    Lest having the tower started
                                                                    He finds it cannot be finished,
                                                                    And others beholding will mock him
                                                                    For all that he purposed and lost.
                                                                    Our God has a plan for the ages,
                                                                    A purpose beyond all compare,
                                                                    He carefully weighed out the balance—
                                                                    And marked out the course for each man,
                                                                    Then measured the good and the evil
                                                                    Creation in sorrow would share.
                                                                    He willingly gave of His treasure,
                                                                    Not even withholding His Son,
                                                                    But followed His plan of redemption
                                                                    Through Calvary, death, and the tomb,
                                                                    Secure in the knowledge that vict'ry
                                                                    Would climax all that He begun.
                                                                    He shall not be mocked by sinners,
                                                                    He shall not be found to fail,
                                                                    The purpose which He hath determined—
                                                                    In mysteries yet to be known,
                                                                    Shall find in Him its perfection,
                                                                    His love and His grace shall prevail.
                                                                    He bringeth to birth, and His power
                                                                    Is strong to deliver His own,
                                                                    The first fruits of this generation—
                                                                    And all that the ages shall hold,
                                                                    Till all things in Him are united,
                                                                    To worship the King on His throne. 

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(1)  Prinzing, Ray and Doris. THE TRIUMPHANT WAY!. (now out of print), Boise, Idaho 83705}

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