Ecclesiastes 3:15 – “That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.”
Romans 4:17 – “…even God, who quickened the dead, and calleth those things that be not as though they were.”
Colossians 4:6 – “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.”
Ephesians 4:29 – “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.”
There are many people who are concerned about their future. But they really should be concerned about the past. Why? Because it is the past that is supposed to determine their future.
Ecclesiastes 3:15 says “That which hath been is now;…” So the things which God spoke about you in the past are supposed to be happening “now”, or presently.
The next part of verse 15 says “…and that which is to be hath already been;…” “That which is to be” is referring to your future. So the scripture is saying that the things that are supposed to happen in your future “hath already been.” The things that are supposed to happen in your future have already been spoken by God in the past.
The last part of verse 15 says “…and God requireth that which is past.” What is God requiring? He is requiring that the things that He spoke about you in the past be fulfilled in your present and in your future. What is it that happened in the past?
Genesis 1:26 says “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion…over all the earth…”
Genesis 1:27 says “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”
Genesis 1:28 says “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion…”
Genesis 2:3 says “And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
Genesis 2:4 says “These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.”
Genesis 2:7 says “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”
Notice that man wasn’t formed until Genesis 2:7. But before man was formed, God gave the instruction in Genesis 1:28 to “be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion…” Who was God talking to if man didn’t have a body yet?
God was talking to spiritual man. He was telling spiritual man to replenish the earth with His character and nature, be fruitful and multiply it, subdue it and have dominion. This is why it is important to lead holy and sanctified lives in the earth, because you are reflecting and replenishing God’s character and nature in the earth, so that those who don’t know God can see your example and come to know Him.
Notice in Genesis 2:3 the Word is saying that He had rested from all His work which He “created and made”. Notice that He used two different words, “created” and “made”.
In the original translation, the word “made” means “to furnish or to equip”. When God “made” you in His image in Genesis 1:27, man didn’t have a body yet until Genesis 2:7. So God first “made” your spirit man, meaning that He “furnished or equipped” your spirit man with everything that you needed to fulfill your assignment in the earth.
Ephesians 1:3 says that God “hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” So your spirit man is fully “furnished or equipped” to fulfill the assignment that God spoke in your past. Again, Ecclesiastes 3:15 says “and God requireth that which is past.” So God blessed you with everything that you needed to fulfill your assignment in the earth, in the past when He “made” you.
Notice that He also used the word “created”. In the original translation, the word “created” means “sent or dispatched”. Genesis 2:4 says “These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created…” So there are many different generations. When your generation came up in the year you were born, God put your spirit man (which He had made in the past before man had a body) into a body.
So your spirit man had already been “furnished or equipped” with all spiritual blessings that you needed to fulfill your assignment before the generations began. So for example, if you were born in 1984, God “created” or “sent or dispatched” you into the earth. That was a generation that you were born in. Your spirit man was already in the heavenlies, waiting to be dispatched into the earth with your body in 1984.
Genesis 1:26 is letting you know that God made you in His image, after His likeness. So the essence of the Creator is in your spirit man. God invested part of Himself in you. In 1 John 5, the Word says “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world…” Your spirit man was “born” or “originated” of God Himself. Notice that the Word says “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world…” Overcometh the world! It’s not talking about struggling to make a mortgage payment. It’s talking about overcoming the world!!!!!