1.06. Matthew 10:28
There is no reasoning so utterly vain as that which uses one passage of scripture in order to destroy our faith in another. Correctly translated and interpreted with the help of the Holy Spirit, there is no conflict in the Word of God. Matthew 10:28 says, "And fear not them which kill the body but are not able to kill the soul, but rather fear Him Who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (Greek, Gehenna)." These words are supposed to prove ultimate destruction of sinners. In this passage, our Lord is speaking to His disciples regarding the suffering required for entrance into the kingdom. Men will hate them and kill them. Literally death always effects body, soul, and spirit, but our Lord is speaking of their experiences, what they will suffer for His sake. Men will slay them. James and Peter were killed. After they were killed, they suffered no more. In a very real sense, those who killed their bodies ushered their souls into the kingdom without further pain. Speaking of God being able to destroy both body and soul, He is able to do many things, but that does not mean He will do them. He is able to blot a name out of the Lamb’s book of life. You are able to stick a dagger into your right eye, but that doesn’t mean that you ever will. Be careful what you tell the world that the Creator is going to do. You may find yourself adding to His Word. To be able to do something is not the same as actually doing it.
Every Christian was once lost, destroyed. Not only was this no hindrance to their deliverance, but it was absolutely essential to it. God had lost them. Through Christ, God has found and saved them. The same is true of those who are not now saved. Please remember there is not one except Jesus Christ, who was not lost and had need of a Savior. Some God will call tomorrow, many He will not call until another age. God has definitely declared that He is the Savior of all mankind (Study 1 Timothy 2:3-6; 1 Timothy 4:9-11). Since God has lost them and He has said He will save them, they will be saved in their own order (Study 1 Corinthians 15:22-28).
Destruction, like aionian life, is relative to the eons or the ages. After the eons, all will be vivified. The word used in 1 Corinthians 15:22 is not resurrection (anastasias). As mentioned before, the word used is the Greek "zoopoieo" which means to vivify, to make alive, to be made immortal. The apostle Paul tells us very clearly in that verse that all that are dying in Adam, the same all, will be or shall be made alive in Christ. Neither destruction nor aionian life are the end or aim of God. Imagine a God Whose very essence is love, losing a single creature who has an endless capacity of loving and glorifying Him. To create a creature whose purpose is to manifest the image of God, and then destroy it because it did not live up to the Creator’s expectations sounds like something Hollywood would dream up. It sounds like a Frankenstein movie. Is this what God has produced? An error? Then God is sinful. He missed the mark, His purpose, His creation is flawed. What foolish thinking this is! We do not have such a God; He destroys nothing that He cannot restore. He loses nothing that will not return to Him. Destruction is a passing process, not a finished goal. What He destroys is our life to sin that we might live to Him who is Life! First comes death from which He brings life. He produces a field well fertilized with death and then He plants His seed in it to produce life. He produced the exact amount of death to produce the exact amount of Life He intended. Believe me, our Father wastes nothing! Through destruction, God will work out the welfare of His creatures and bring unending glory to our Savior and Creator.
I know that the scriptures say that God loves the world, thus all mankind, and that God’s love will never fail (Study I Cor 13). Therefore, God will resurrect all sinners and judge them and ultimately save them all. We forget that when God’s judgments are in the earth, the world will learn righteousness (Isaiah 26:9). This is God’s will and He will not be defeated. God’s love will be victorious. The scriptures clearly teach that the lost will be judged in accord with their works. "For the Son of Man shall come in the Glory of His Father with His angels and then He shall reward every man according to his works" (Matthew 16:27). And again, "Who will render every man according to his deeds" (Romans 2:6). And again, "And the sea gave up the dead which were in it and death and hell (Hades) delivered up the dead which were in them. And they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell (hades) were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death" (Revelation 20:13-14). Hence all at the Great White Throne Judgment will be judged according to their works and as every man’s works are different, thus every one’s judgment will be as variable as their works. Thereafter, they are returned to the second death which is the lake of fire. There is no variance in the second death. It is the same for all, thus it cannot be the judgment according to works.
Many teach that the lake of fire is a place where the sinners are alive and consciously suffering endless misery. On the other hand, many are teaching that the lake of fire is endless destruction. Both of these doctrines are making God the loser of some or most of His creation. He came to "seek and save that which was lost," but apparently He will fail to fulfill His mission (Luke 19:10). "Who will have all men to come into the knowledge of the truth; Who is the savior of all men" (1 Timothy 2:4; 1 Timothy 4:10). God says,
"I am God and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying My counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure, calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country. Yea, I have spoken it. I will also bring it to pass. I have proposed it; I will also do it" (Isaiah 46:9-11).
Hence God declares He will do all His pleasure. He has proposed it and will bring it to pass. Notice this quotation in which God says through the apostle Paul,
"Having made known unto us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure which He has proposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of time He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth, even in Him, in Whom also we have obtained an inheritance being predestined according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will" (Ephesians 1:9-11).
Therefore it is the good pleasure which God has proposed in Himself to have an administration in the fullness of the era to head up all in the Christ. See the Greek text. Thus in the scriptures we have grace which exhibits God’s glory and results in forgiveness and salvation to all. (See Php 2:9-13; Colossians 1:16-20). In these verses in Colossians chapter one we have the word all used 7 times in the King James Version. All Christians will accept all of these all’s through verse 16, 17, 18, 19, but when we come to verse 20, they argue that it cannot be. God is not going to reconcile all, they say. (Greek, ta panta). Now, I ask you, is this being fair to God’s word? Verse 16 says He creates all and we have many other passages of scriptures which tell us He creates all, but yet, they will reject verse 20 where He says He will reconcile all. Again, I ask, is that being fair to scripture? Why not believe the scriptures? We go to church, hear that beautiful hymn, There is Power in the Blood, yet we do not believe there is enough power to do what Colossians 1:20 tells us, that is, to reconcile all.
If one refused to believe these plain statements in the scriptures, then they will have to wait until God displays His marvelous grace in the coming administration. Then they will see His grace displayed and this can be expressed in three words: seeing is believing. Therefore, I assume, in spite of the dozens of scriptures that teach God loves all and will reconcile all, many people will have to see God’s grace manifested before they will believe. But men make God’s love too narrow by false limits of their own and they magnify His vengeance with a zeal He will not own.
Remember, our Lord Jesus said, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This He said signifying what death He should die" (John 12:32-33). We know Jesus was lifted up on Calvary. Why not believe these clear plain words of our Savior and also the words of the apostle Paul where he says, "all will be reconciled" (Colossians 1:20), "all will be justified" (Romans 5:18-19), "and all shall be made alive" (1 Corinthians 15:22)? Why not believe these clear plain statements? Why argue that these plain statements are not true? There can be no statements in the scriptures correctly interpreted and translated that contradict this glorious truth of the salvation of all people.