When we speak about salvation as coming from God, we are emphasizing His exclusive right to determine who will be saved. Salvation is not something that humans can earn or decide for themselves; rather, it is entirely the work that God accomplishes. From eternity past, it was God's divine plan that the three persons of the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—would work together in perfect harmony to bring about salvation. This divine cooperation was rooted in God's goodness and desire to glorify Himself through saving humanity. The plan of salvation was established long before time began, and within the fullness of history, this plan was enacted through the actions of the Trinity, ensuring that salvation would be extended to those whom God had chosen beforehand. These individuals are given salvation generously and graciously by God's sovereign will. Ultimately, salvation is wholly the initiative and work of God, emphasizing His sovereignty and grace in the process. When Jesus Christ entered into human history, He did so with a purpose: to offer Himself as a sacrifice for sin. His coming was driven by a desire to fulfill the will of the Father, who sent Him to be the perfect and acceptable sacrifice that would satisfy God's righteous anger and wrath against sin. Christ willingly bore the full weight of God's wrath, enduring the punishment that justice demands. Because of His perfect sacrifice, He alone is able to serve as the only acceptable means for humans to be reconciled to God. There is no alternative or substitute; salvation can only be accessed through Christ. By His death on the cross, Christ not only achieved purification from sin but also defeated the power of evil—destroying the works of the Devil—and triumphed over death itself. This victory means that those who once lived under the shadow of death's fear can now be freed from its bondage. Christ's incarnation was essential not only for redeeming humanity but also for raising spiritually dead individuals to life. He grants eternal life to believers and also bestows the gift of faith, enabling them to receive and embrace this eternal life. It is important to recognize that any efforts or works originating from a corrupt or sinful source are ultimately dead works—they hold no spiritual value because they are tainted by sin and cannot contribute to salvation.

The phrase "bread from Heaven" specifically refers to the manna provided to the Israelites in the wilderness, as narrated in the Old Testament. Unlike their previous sustenance, which was often acquired through physical labor or taken from their enemies in Egypt—an act of God's intervention—the manna was a divine gift directly from God. It served as their sole nourishment during their journey, symbolizing reliance on God's provision rather than worldly resources. This sustains them without the burden of carrying heavy supplies, emphasizing dependence on divine grace. This act of divine provision foreshadows Christ, who came from His eternal Sonship to become a man—our brother among many brothers. Christ's incarnation signifies His full participation in human life, sharing in our suffering and understanding. He is not only divine but also fully human, made perfect through His suffering. As our brother, He understands our struggles and weaknesses. The bread from Heaven, then, symbolizes the spiritual nourishment we receive through faith in Him. Just as manna sustained the Israelites physically, Christ sustains our spiritual life when we feed on Him through the Word and faith. This spiritual food creates a union between us and Him, transforming us into new beings. Ultimately, Christ is the true bread from Heaven, providing eternal sustenance that nourishes the soul and brings us into communion with God. The significance of these words depends greatly on the context in which they are understood. In the Old Testament, the Psalmist declares, "Taste and see that the Lord is good." This invitation is not merely about experiencing physical taste, but rather about perceiving and recognizing God's goodness through spiritual insight. The verse is complemented by a parallel statement: "Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him." Here, the emphasis is not on the literal act of tasting food, but on trusting and finding safety in God's divine mercy. While one might consider a secondary, literal meaning—since all food ultimately comes from God's hand—the subsequent verse instructs us to "fear the Lord, you righteous." This suggests that true understanding and spiritual perception are rooted in reverence and righteousness. When a person lives in the righteousness that is imputed to them through faith, their mind is enlightened, and they gain a divine perspective of God's goodness. This divine infusion elevates their awareness, allowing them to see that all things work together for good according to God's purpose. A person who possesses spiritual discernment begins to embody God's goodness. Such a person can recognize Christ as the ultimate manifestation of divine goodness, seeing Him as the embodiment of God's mercy and kindness.

Since an individual cannot choose spiritual goodness without first accepting new sacred knowledge to truly understand Him, he lacks the moral capacity to please God on his own. Therefore, it is impossible for a person to fully please God through his own efforts. A truly good spiritual choice is initiated by the reborn Spirit, which plants new desires within the individual. The Spirit is often likened to the wind—completely active and unpredictable—so the work of the Spirit within a person’s heart is entirely dynamic. When people accept this divine will, they become completely passive in the process; it is the Spirit that works within them. In this divine work, the old will of man is destroyed; he spiritually dies to his previous self, and through this death, he gains spiritual benefit. The new will that emerges from this process then gives life, transforming the individual from within. The pursuit should be to please oneself in a way that aligns with divine truth. In the realm of existence, everything that exists has a reason for its existence. Created things come from an eternal desire—an inherent longing that gives them purpose. Therefore, perfect balance or equilibrium in desires and choices is impossible because desires always exist and influence decisions. If the will simply leads to choices, then each choice is a continuation of the previous one, creating a chain of decisions influenced by prior actions. Such a process might be seen as the natural progression of decision-making, but if the only reason for choosing is the self-determined will, then existence itself appears to lack ultimate purpose or reason. We face various trials, and our perceptions of these challenges—whether visual or experiential—are purposeful. It’s important to recognize that our spiritual adversary is not solely within us; external influences also threaten our faith. When our mental clarity becomes painful or clouded, we must remain complete in our understanding and trust in divine reason. This enables us to pass these tests and withstand opposition, even when the reasons behind such opposition are not fully clear to us. Because we view these experiences from a limited perspective, only God possesses the divine power and insight to arrange all these circumstances into perfect order. This divine orchestration makes our spiritual journey more complex and difficult than we might initially believe. In summary, true spiritual growth depends on divine grace, the destruction of the old self, and the acceptance of a new divine will. Our choices are influenced by desires rooted in divine purpose, and while our reasoning plays a role, it is ultimately guided by the Spirit. We are involved in a process that is both passive and active—passive in our receptivity, active in divine work—and this divine activity is designed to bring us into perfect harmony with God's eternal plan. The journey is challenging and often beyond our understanding, but trust in God's sovereignty and grace sustains us through every test and trial. However, because desires precede choices, the state of the soul influences the decisions made. When we choose between different objects or options, we often rely on reasoning to determine which is better or more pleasing. Yet, ultimately, all these processes are interconnected through the Spirit. The Spirit guides everything harmoniously—though this is not about us alone, but about the divine activity within us. The Spirit is entirely passive in its essence—waiting, working silently—yet it is also completely active in effecting change. Although we are strangers in this world, we are also inherently connected to it. Psychological pain and physical strength both serve as tests, each threatening us in different ways. Our original identity is rooted in spiritual death—meaning our former self is disconnected from divine life—and because of this, we cannot directly taste, hear, or touch spiritual reality. It is not enough to merely desire change; not only must the old will be destroyed, but when a new will is accepted, it must be preceded by grace. Grace acts as the divine catalyst that makes all new choices possible. The act of choosing should be done with mental intentionality, but it is grace that underpins this process. Grace is the foundation for all virtues that form our new spiritual identity, guiding us from within.

God’s desires and purposes are unified with His creation and His elect as they align themselves with His standard of justice—rising up to meet the divine law through the pronouncements of blessing and cursing. His kingdom is built on the foundation of His covenant law, which governs every aspect of life and death. Through these divine laws, God recreates and sustains His kingdom on earth, ensuring that His divine justice prevails in history. The King of heaven, through His authoritative speech—His law, covenants, curses, decrees, statutes, and promises—speaks creation into existence. Every aspect of reality, from the grandest cosmic laws to the smallest details, was predetermined in the counsel of God before the foundation of the world. Nothing exists outside of God's sovereign will; everything is created and upheld under His authority through these divine pronouncements. God’s words are not merely expressive but creative and authoritative, allowing and forbidding as He decrees, thus bringing everything into being according to His divine plan. From eternity past, God established His perfect government—His righteous and just rule—foreordained through His divine counsel. He revealed the perfect description of His justice and advocacy through these pronouncements, which serve as the eternal blueprint for His kingdom. The psalmist describes God's eternal government and priesthood as being inherently connected to these divine pronouncements, emphasizing the high priestly work of Christ in the order of Melchizedek. In eternity, God predestined all things according to His divine plan, which includes His government and the priesthood of Christ—unifying the entire scope of history before and after the cross under the overarching sovereignty of His eternal decrees. God has intricately designed His kingdom to be everlasting through a covenant made with King David. This covenant was not a mere agreement made in time but was established in the eternal counsel of God before creation itself. In the infinite before-time, within the counsel of divine sovereignty, God predestined the unfolding of history, working out His purposes with deliberate precision. These divine purposes were articulated through six sovereign pronouncements—divine declarations that preordained the end from the beginning. These six pronouncements serve as a perfect description and blueprint of all creation, history, and divine activity, and they are rooted in the eternal covenant made with David. Within these divine pronouncements, God's justice is manifested and mediated through the authority of the king, who pronounces life and death according to God's will. The justice of God is not arbitrary but is exercised through His decrees, which carry the weight of eternal law. These pronouncements reflect God's desire to establish and uphold His kingdom, and they are the means through which divine justice and righteousness are enacted in time. The desires embedded in God's eternal plan are implanted into His elect—those chosen by God's sovereign grace—who are called to participate in this divine purpose. Crucially, God's covenant law also reveals His necessity to satisfy divine justice in the face of human sin and rebellion. Sin introduced death and destruction into God's perfect creation, bringing curses upon all creation. To uphold His justice and to remedy the curse, God Himself provided the ultimate atonement—the death of His Son. This act of atonement satisfies the demands of divine justice, allowing God to cancel the curse and establish blessing for His elect. This divine foreordaining ensures that God's justice remains perfect and unchanging. His high priestly work, fulfilled in Christ, unites heaven and earth, past and future, in a seamless divine purpose. The priesthood of Melchizedek, as foreshadowed in Psalm 110, points to the eternal and unchangeable nature of Christ’s priesthood—an everlasting priesthood that guarantees the fulfillment of God's promises and the full establishment of His kingdom. Through this priesthood, God’s justice, mercy, and righteousness are perfectly maintained, ensuring that His divine purposes are eternally secured and fulfilled. In summary, the entire biblical narrative centers on these divine pronouncements—God's immutable decrees—that establish His eternal kingdom, His righteous law, and His priestly work through Christ. From eternity past, God's plans have been fixed in divine counsel, unfolding according to His perfect justice and wisdom. His kingdom is a covenant-legal order, sustained by His spoken word, which guarantees the realization of His perfect justice, the destruction of opposition, and the blessing of His elect. These divine decrees are the foundation of all reality, the basis for divine sovereignty, and the means through which God's eternal purposes are brought to fulfillment in time and eternity. In the act of creating and sustaining His kingdom, God involves His elect—those whom He has chosen and set apart—by implanting within them the desires aligned with His divine will. These desires find fulfillment as God's power operates through His pronouncements, satisfying human longing and corrupted understanding. As humans speak and respond to God's divine decrees, their desires are ultimately fulfilled in accordance with God's sovereign plan, which encompasses both judgment and mercy. This eternal kingdom functions according to God's perfect knowledge and understanding. The divine will is revealed through these pronouncements, which encapsulate His mysterious and infinite wisdom. These divine declarations—embodying law, covenant, curses, decrees, statutes, and promises—are the means by which God's will is made known and enacted. Humanity and creation itself respond to these divine utterances, as the universe is brought into existence through God's sovereign speech. In this way, the kingdom of God is established and sustained by divine fiat, by His spoken word. Would you like me to further elaborate on specific aspects or simplify certain sections? God rules with perfect justice and righteousness, exercising authority through the six divine pronouncements that predate all creation. These pronouncements serve as the ultimate legal and moral framework, establishing what is blessed and what is cursed, what is permitted and what is forbidden. Everything that exists has already been justified in God's eternal mind—blessed or cursed—before entering into time. In this divine economy, God's justice is not only a matter of law but a reflection of His righteous character, which He mediates through His decrees. The six divine pronouncements, therefore, serve as the foundation of God's authority—establishing His sovereignty over all things, allowing and preventing events according to His divine purpose. These pronouncements destroy opposition and uphold divine justice, culminating in the blessing of God's people. Through these, God's authority is manifested, and His kingdom is effectively established, rooted in the law and covenant. Psalm 110:4 declares: "The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind: 'You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.'" This profound verse underscores the unchangeable nature of God's covenant and His eternal priesthood. It reveals that God's promises and divine decrees are rooted in His sovereign oath, which is immutable and everlasting. The declaration signifies that God's establishment of His kingdom on earth is not a fleeting or temporary arrangement but a permanent, unalterable covenant.