God's Plan Of Redemption
The Word Of God - Lesson IIIB
God's Plan Of Redemption
The God-Man
We have learned that the sacrificial system put in place under Moses only covered over the sins of the people but was not able to remove their sins. However, in time God sent a Sacrifice which was sufficient to deal with the sins of humanity, namely His Son Jesus Christ, the Second Adam as we can read in:
Romans 5:19b
…So also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
God the Son has always been part of the Godhead with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. However, it is God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who came to earth in human form so that He could become the Perfect Sacrifice to redeem humanity back to God as we can read in:
John 10:10b
….I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.
And in Romans 3:24
And are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
And in Romans 5:8
But God demonstrated His own love for us in this; while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
And in Romans 5:18b
…So also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.
And in Romans 6:23b
….But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord
The Final Sacrifice
God sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ to be the final sacrifice by being crucified on a Cross as we can read in:
Isaiah 53:5
He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.
John 19:16b-18
…… So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. Carrying His own cross, He went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called “Golgotha”). Here they crucified Him, and with Him two others – one on each side and Jesus in the middle.
And in Matthew 27:45-46
From the sixth hour to the ninth hour darkness came over the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachtani?” – which means, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?
This three-hour period is very significant for it is the time period that Jesus bore the sins of the world. During that time God the Father looked silently on as the Son bore the sins of the world. Consequently, Jesus felt completely forsaken by the Father as we can hear from the words He spoke, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
Jesus had then fulfilled His task and died as we can read in the following words recorded in:
John 19:28-30
Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put a sponge on the stalk of the hyssop plant and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When He had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.
Matthew gives us some further details regarding the moment that Jesus died as we can read in:
Matthew 27:51a
At that moment the curtain of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom….
The curtain in the Temple separated the Holies from the Holies of Holies, the Place of God’s Presence where only the High Priest was allowed to enter once a year. However, at the time of Jesus’ death this curtain was torn to indicate that from then on every believer could enter the Presence of God. Moreover the fact that the curtain was torn from top to bottom shows us that it was God Himself who tore the curtain.
The author of the Book of Hebrews writes the following:
Hebrews 7:27b
…He (Jesus) sacrificed for their sins once for all when He offered Himself.
And in Hebrews 9:26b-28a
But now He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people…
A Blood Sacrifice
When the first man and woman disobeyed God He sacrificed an animal to cover over their sins as we have read in:
Genesis 3:21
The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.
They had tried to cover over their guilt and shame with fig leaves as we have read in:
Genesis 3:7
Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they realised that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made covering for themselves.
However, their own covering was insufficient. Blood needed to be shed for their sins to be covered over so God sacrificed an animal. Furthermore God had must have taught Adam the practice of offering an animal sacrifice for we have read that one day Abel and Cain brought an offering to the Lord in:
Genesis 4:3-4a
In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits if the soil as an offering to the Lord. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the first-born of his flock….
Only Abel’s offering was acceptable to the Lord because blood was shed as we have read in:
Genesis 4:4b
The Lord looked with favour on Abel and his offering.
We have learned as well that animal sacrifices were only a temporary measure since the people’s sins were only covered over through the blood of animals but were not removed as we can read in:
Hebrews 10:1-4
The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming – not of the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshippers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
Salvation Through Christ's Blood
Therefore,in time, God sent His Son to be the final Sacrifice. His shed blood was sufficient for the redemption of humanity as we can read in:
Romans 3:23-25a
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that cam by Christ Jesus. God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in His blood….
Romans 5:8-9
But God demonstrates His own love for us in this; while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we now have been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him.
Ephesians 1:7-8
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.
Ephesians 2:13
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
Colossians 1:19-20
For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him (Christ), and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, whether things on earth on things in heaven, by making peace through His blood shed on the cross.
Hebrews 9:11-12
When Christ came as High Priest of the good things that are already here, He went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.
Hebrews 9:13-14
The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
Hebrews 10:19-22
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, His body, and since we have a great Priest over the House of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
I Peter 1:18-19
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
I John 1:7
But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.
Revelation 1:5b
To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood.
Revelation 5:9
And they sang a new song: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with Your blood You purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.
Satan's Defeat
The death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross, caused Satan to be defeated. God foretold this long ago as we can read in:
Genesis 3:15b
He (Jesus) will crush your head, and you will strike His heel.
Paul mentions this defeat of Satan in Colossians 2:15
And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
From Death To Life
We are all born with a sinful nature and are under a death sentence as we have learned from:
Romans 5:12
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.
However, through Christ’s Sacrifice on the Cross our death sentence can be removed from our lives and in its place we can receive life in Christ as we can read in:
John 10:10
(Jesus speaking)The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.
Romans 3:23-24
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Romans 5:9-10
Since we now have been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him! For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life.
Romans 5:18b
So also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.
Romans 6:11
In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Romans 8:1-2
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the Law of the Spirit of Life has set me free from the Law of sin and death.
Romans 8:5b
But those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on that the Spirit desires.
Romans 8:6b
But the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.
Romans 8:15
For you did not receive a Spirit that makes you a slave again to sin, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by Him we cry, “Abba, Father.”
Romans 8:35-39
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
II Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
II Corinthians 5:21
God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
Ephesians 2:8-9
For it is by grace that you have been saved through faith – and this in not from yourselves, it is the gift of God –not by works, so that no-one can boast.
Colossians 3:3
For you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
Those who have received the Life of Christ have entered the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Life as we will see in our next study.