When God created the universe, the earth, and you and me, He did it for a specific purpose. Nothing ever happens by accident; there’s always a reason why something happens—or doesn’t happen. God always knows exactly what He’s doing and has had a plan in place since before time began. We can trust that He’ll reveal this unique plan to us, His children, in His own good time.

God’s plan for us to be holy, blameless in His sight, and accepted into the beloved was prepared before the foundations of the world. He had already decided all of it. The same is true of the church being Jesus’ bride and God’s dwelling place in the world; the Bible calls it the great mystery. “Having made known unto 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). This brought me to tears when I read it because I could barely fathom that God put this awesome plan into place for me before I could do anything to deserve His care or attention.

Even though His divine plan was set in place from the beginning, God has been working through the whole of human history to bring it to pass. It’s a gradual process because mankind is incapable of absorbing or processing God’s whole design at once. In the Old Testament, His plan was gradually revealed as shadows and pictures; in the four gospels, it was gradually revealed as parables; even today, God’s progressive revelation continues.

The entire Old Testament points to Jesus; everything in it is a type and shadow of Him. During His ministry, Jesus referred to the Old Testament as “the Scriptures” and explained that He was the main topic. “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27). Examples include references to the Sabbath as a day of the week, the animal sacrifices that had to be perfect and spotless for God to accept them, and the Jewish ten percent tithing requirement.

Ladies and gentlemen, we need to rightly divide the truth; that’s what Jesus tried to explain when He told the people, “These scriptures speak of me.” Jesus was referencing the Old Testament. While Jesus was on the earth, the New Testament hadn’t been written yet. This is an important distinction that helps us keep things in context so that we don’t point to a random Scripture and say, “Here it is in the Bible; that’s what He said.” There’s a difference between the Old and New Testaments. Those who don’t understand this are still stuck in old-covenant thinking; they haven’t yet received the progressive revelation that keeps moving forward.

A few years ago, I preached about the progressive revelation the body of Christ receives, especially the revelation about tithing in the Book of Malachi versus generous giving in the New Testament. People weren’t ready to hear it. There was no thought of examining the Scriptures to see who was speaking and who was being spoken to. I watched people demonstrate their ignorance and their failure to rightly divide the Word of truth.

What seemed scandalous and unbelievable under the law is now commonly accepted under grace. The things God slowly began revealing in the Old Testament are much clearer now and will continue leading to new knowledge in the future. In time, “eventually” will become “now.” Be ready for new revelations as God rolls them out.