Even as we find ourselves in the midst of this crisis, people have begun to speculate about what impact this pandemic will have on our daily lives moving forward. What will be the new normal, in light of what we’ve experienced and learned? Many believe that much will change as a result of COVID-19. However, one thing is guaranteed to remain the same: the Word of God.
Laws may change. Technological advances may emerge. Social mores may be altered. Economic empires may rise and fall. However, amidst shifting tides, God’s Word stands firm.
Puritan Thomas Watson said,
“The Devil is always trying to blow out the light of Scripture one way or another.”
Psalm 110:160 declares,
“The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.”
Peter quoting Isaiah affirms,
“All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” (1 Peter 1:24)
The character and capacity of Scripture will remain unaltered. We can take comfort, amidst uncertainty, that, per Psalm 19:7-9, the Bible will remain perfect, sure, right, clear, clean, and true. And it will continue to restore the soul, make wise the simple, rejoice the heart, enlighten the eyes, endure forever, and produce righteousness.
The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether.
As Richard Mayhue and John MacArthur explain in their tome, Biblical Doctrine, the kingdom of God is the overarching theme in Scripture.
“The kingdom of God can be explained in this manner: the divine, eternal triune God literally created a kingdom and two kingdom citizens who were to have dominion over it. But an enemy usurped their rightful allegiance to the King and captured the original kingdom citizens. God intervened with consequential curses that exist to this day. Ever since, God has been redeeming sinful, rebellious people to be restored as qualified kingdom citizens, both now in a spiritual sense and later in a kingdom-on-earth sense. Finally, the enemy will be vanquished forever, as will sin. Thus, Revelation 21-22 describes the final and eternal expression of the kingdom of God, in which the eternal triune God will restore the kingdom to its original purity, removing the curse and establishing the new heaven and the new earth as the everlasting abode of God and his people.”
As difficult as it may be for us to comprehend, the Corona virus is part of God’s sovereign kingdom plan. It is one of the consequential curses resulting from the fall. And He is, and will, use it to redeem sinful, rebellious people to be restored as qualified kingdom citizens.
Moving forward, COVID-19 may alter much around us socially, physically, economically and emotionally, but it changes nothing spiritually. God’s Word, His sovereign plan and requirements for kingdom citizenship remain unaltered.
