WONDERS OF DIVINE ORDER

“LET ALL THINGS be done decently and in ORDER” – 1 Corinthians 14:40

GOD’S WORD aptly encapsulates the WONDERS of DIVINE ORDER: “LET ALL THINGS be done decently and in ORDER” (1Cor.14:40). Although this text is in the context of Orderly Worship, God desires that ALL THINGS be done decently and IN ORDER. He wants to establish His Order in all aspects of our lives – our hearts, minds, bodies, marriages, homes, careers, finances, businesses, ministries, communities, cities, the nations, and His Church – to override the world’s disorder. Order implies: The arrangement or disposition of people or things in relation to each other according to a particular pattern, sequence, or method; proper procedure, conformity with law or decorum; an established form, layout, organization, system, structure or sequence; or an authoritative command, directive, decree, instruction or mandate.

The Wonders of Divine Order are rooted in God Himself, the Perfect Model of Divine Order. The Supreme Commander over His vast Universe created and positions everything in order. Nothing is random, accidental, or left to chance in His scheme of things, in Time and in Eternity. Everything has an appointed purpose, place, and time (Eccl.3:1). God’s System of Order is embedded in His Word and sustained by His Spirit: “Upholding ALL THINGS by the Word of His Power” (Heb.1:3). In the beginning, God restored Order to a chaotic world by the Spirit and the Word (Gen.1:1-3). The God of Precision sustains all things by established principles, patterns, systems, structures, and sequences.

Here are few of the manifold Wonders of Divine Order in God’s Word:

Ordered Life: “The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes, I have a good inheritance” (Psa.16:6).

Ordered Heart: “KEEP your HEART with all diligence; for out of it spring the issues of life” (Pro.4:23).

Ordered Mind: “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose MIND is stayed on You, because he trusts in You” (Isa.26:3); “For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a SOUND MIND” (2 Tim. 1:7).

Ordered Thoughts: “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things” (Phil.4:8).

Ordered Steps: “The STEPS of a good man are ORDERED by the Lord, and He delights in his way” (Psa.37:23).

Order in Marriage and Home: “WIVES, SUBMIT to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. HUSBANDS, LOVE your wives and do not be bitter toward them” (Col.3:18-19).

Ordered Times of Life: “So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psa.90:12).

Order in the Church: "For God is not a God of DISORDER but of peace, as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people" (1Cor.14:33, NIV). God has a Divine Order of regularity for our devotional lives: “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.” (Acts 2:42). “For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your GOOD ORDER and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ” (Col.2:5).

Ordered Leadership: “The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has COMMANDED HIM to be COMMANDER over His people” (1Sam.13:14). The COMMANDER of Commanders sovereignly, “rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whoever He wills, and sets up over it the basest of men” (Dan.4:17b).

Order in the Destinies of Nations: “So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten...” (Joel 2:25). At this inception of a new democratic dispensation, I pray that He who “RULES OVER the NATIONS” will fulfil these words over Nigeria (Psa.22:28).

It is written: “Of the increase of His Government and Peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to ORDER it and ESTABLISH it with judgement and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this” (Isa.9:6).