God's Salvation
GOD'S SALVATION PROVISIONS (1)
God's Salvation
GOD'S SALVATION PROVISIONS (1)
Introduction: In lesson two, we discussed briefly five indispensable subjects so for as our salvation is concerned: The Word of God which tells us all we can and need to know (Psalm 119:41-48), the Father who is the originator of this great plan (John 5:17), the Son whose sacrifice and resurrection expedited the plan (John 11:25-27), the Spirit who inspired the Scriptures as an infallible guide concerning salvation (Acts 8:35, 18:28; 2 Timothy 3:16), and the providence of God who enables us to live and move and have our very existence in Him (Genesis 12:1-4; Acts 17:24, 28; Hebrews 11:37-40).
This overview, though very brief, makes us realize that the efforts on God’s part for our salvation are intricately woven together. They reflect the work God in His fullness of divine nature (Acts 17:29; Romans 1:20; Colossians 2:9). This work is expressed through the three Persons of the Trinity (Matthew 3:16-17, 28:19-20). Just as the Persons of the Trinity are never separated but sometimes distinguishable, so their work is never separated but sometimes distinguishable.
We choose the central event of salvation history to illustrate. Note: Salvation required blood sacrifice. This could not be accomplished with animal blood (Hebrews 10:4). The Father prepared a body for His Son (Hebrews 10:5) – that body was nailed to a cross and Jesus shed His human blood (John 19:34-35). With that in mind we read the question: “How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Hebrews 9:14).
Here we see God’s salvation plan being enacted. The work is one work. However, the Persons of the Trinity are at work in distinguishable ways. God the Father prepared a body for His Son (incarnation). Jesus, the one who was very God (Deity) and very man (human), went to the cross and shed His human blood. This was “through the Spirit.” This was done to motivate us to “serve the living God.”
We see the saving work of God as a comprehensive wonder. God in His totality (spirit) is at work. God in three Persons (Father, Son, Spirit) is at work. These three Persons’ work is complex and many-faceted. Yet, all is done in perfect harmony. For example, we are told that God raised Jesus from the dead (Acts 2:22-24). We also read that others said, “The Lord has really risen, and has appeared to Simon” (Luke 24:34). And Paul points out the close relationship among God, the Spirit of God, Christ, and the Spirit of Christ as he discussed their work and role in our salvation by the power of Him who raised Christ from the dead (Romans 8:9-11).
In this and succeeding lessons we will be studying God’s salvation provisions for us. The arrangement is not to suggest that each subject is placed in historically chronological order. The grand prospect of God’s salvation provisions for humankind is too expansive for that. The order of study is one of convenience for clarity’s sake. We also stress again, at the risk of being redundant, that in the following lessons we are analyzing God’s work that makes it possible to discuss these marvelous features of salvation. We are looking at the results of what God has done to provide us the abundant life (John 10:10). How one who is not saved may avail himself of this love-laden, awe-inspiring work of God will be discussed after we have realized the beauty, grandeur, and ultimate significance of God’s will and provision for our salvation.
As loyal Christians, we live in a state that is so all-encompassing that it is difficult to describe. The Bible has as its major theme the work of God to bring fallen mankind back to the pristine state that originally existed between God and His human creatures. The God of creation, time, and history gives us His (story) in the Bible (His word).
The difficulty of which we speak is not God’s difficulty. It is ours. We suffer with less than 20- 20 spiritual vision from defects caused by sin in our lives. When we read the Bible, we are reading the proper source book. It is complete, extensive, and thorough. The Bible tells us to study, give diligence, so we may please God as His servants and apply His Word in an effective way (2 Timothy 2:15). These holy Scriptures “… are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through h faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15). However, the fact remains that in our committed study of God’s Word we find that it has penetrated us more than we have penetrated it (Hebrews 4:12). A preacher once asked a studious man he found reading the Scriptures, “‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ And he said, ‘Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?’” (Acts 8:30b-31).
Our study of God’s salvation is Biblically based and as thorough and practical as website memory permits in merely one study. Many methods could be used. We chose one based on foundational concepts that arise from key words of Scripture. The key words will be like bricks, or blocks, from which magnificent concepts will rise up to form the total structure. The edifice we will be struggling to portray is undoubtedly the most beautiful building in the entire cosmos, God’s heavenly palace excepted. We now turn to the task at hand. Atonement: “… it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement” (Leviticus 17:11b).
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When one says “atonement” eyebrows go up and jaws drop. The word is hardly known outside religious or semi-religious circles. It has almost become obscured by popular religious sentiment that does not want to hear anything about blood, suffering, and especially death. But atonement is about such things and much more as we shall see.
A reader of the Bible will find he has not gone very far until he realizes that blood has a very important place. Man is scarcely outside the Garden of Eden until blood is shed. Cain killed Able (Genesis 4:8). The relationship of blood to life and death is immediately shown by God’s solemn statement to Cain. “The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground” (Genesis 4:10b).
After the disastrous Biblical flood, the survivors began to repopulate the earth. God added meat to their diet. However, he gave a promise. “Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as I gave the green plant. Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. Surely I will require your lifeblood; from every beast I will require it. And from every man, from every man’s brother I will require the life of man. Whoever sheds man’s blood, / By man his blood shall be shed, / For in the image of God He made man” (Genesis 9:3-6).
God obviously connected life with blood – lifeblood. Perhaps this explains why blood sacrifice to God emerged early in human history (Genesis 4:4), and, during the patriarchal age, was important in God’s relationship with Abraham (Genesis 15:8-17).
After the Hebrews were delivered from Egyptian slavery, they came to the mountain of Sinai. There they received the Ten Commandments through Moses. Moses was also commanded to set before the people many and various ordinances by which they were to live, work, and worship. Among the ordinances about worship were those pertaining to the blood sacrifices they were to offer. God spoke of these offerings as “… the blood of My sacrifices” (Exodus 23:18a). After Moses had written down all these commandments, he had young bulls sacrificed on an alter as peace offerings to the Lord. He took half of the blood that was shed and sprinkled it on the altar. He read to the people the book of the covenant he had written. He then took the blood that remained in basins and sprinkled it on the people, saying, “Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words” (Exodus 24:8b). Thus, the covenant, testament, Law of Moses and all the people were sealed with the blood of sacrificed animals.
It is not surprising that a people who had been sprinkled with the blood of sacrifice and were governed by a law sprinkled with blood found that the blood of sacrifice was extremely prominent in their worship of God. The book of Leviticus describes the worship rituals in detail. Suffice it to say that the use of blood in the sacrificial worship ordinances is specifically called for some 75 times in Leviticus. Of course this does not exhaust the proscribed use of blood in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), but it does make us realize how significant the practice was. We cannot but be impressed by the overwhelming presence and place of sacrificial blood in biblical history beginning in the time of Adam, continuing in the age of Abraham, and becoming codified in the law of Moses. Why all this emphasis on bloody sacrifices to God? What has all of this to do with atonement?
The highlight example in the Old Testament of the purpose of blood sacrifice is found in the Hebrews’ observance of the Day of Atonement. This ritual was the apex of their religious calendar. It was an annual event. As priest, Aaron, Moses’ brother, was the central figure. He was the one who took the blood of sacrifice into the very throne room of God Himself – the holy place. Inside the holy place of the tent of meeting (tabernacle) was the Ark of the Covenant. Its lid had on each end a cherub (winged creature) that faced the other as they looked at the mercy seat. The priest sprinkled blood on the mercy seat and in that sacred place once a year. This, along with other elaborate rituals, was to be done to “… make atonement for himself, the priests, and for all the people of the assembly … you shall have this as a permanent statute, to make atonement for the sons of Israel for all their sins once each year” (Leviticus 16:33b-34a).
So it turns out that God required the shedding of blood in order to forgive sin – but why? One good reason is that blood is the life of all flesh (Leviticus 17:14a). Therefore, God was truly speaking to the point when He told Moses, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; For it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement” (Leviticus 17:11).
God created us in His image (Genesis 1:27). He gave us life (Genesis 2:7). This intimate closeness of God to man makes any desecration of man an insult to God. Thus, God said, “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God He made man” (Genesis 9:6).
Atonement, then, was a process involving life and death. It was God’s way of dealing with sin in His human creatures. Atonement was the procedure by which man could have his broken relationship with God made whole again. As we have seen, this was done by the sin offering of “the atonements” (Numbers 29:11). This meant “coverings” as a noun and as a verb meant “to cover” (Leviticus 9:7). So “atonement for sin” carried the idea of “covering up sin.” This was done continually under Old Testament law and had a climactic effect once a year on the Day of Atonement.
The goal of this system of blood sacrifice that God ordained for His people was to maintain a covenantal relationship between Him and His chosen ones. Their frequent sins, which separated them from God, were disposed of (covered up) by atonement when they repented and rendered obedient observance to the ordinances pertaining to the forgiveness of sins. Harmony and fellowship with God were restored and maintained in that way. They were “at one” with God when cleansed by the blood sacrifice. Hundreds of years after the time of Moses, king David spoke happily of God’s covering of his sins as forgiveness (Psalm 32:1).
The state of atonement meant “at one” with; therefore, for those estranged, it carried the idea of reconciliation and peace. Moses tried to bring peace between two Hebrews who were fighting (Exodus 2:13). This episode is related by Stephen. “And the next day he shewed himself unto them as they strove, and would have set them at one again, saying, Sirs, ye are brethren; why do ye wrong one to another?” (Acts 7:26, KJV). The NASB has “… he tried to reconcile them in peace”. The Greek words are eis eirene. This is the way Stephan described Moses’ attempt to bring peaceful unity between these two Hebrews.
Even though brief, the above overview of atonement in the Old Testament makes one realize how pervasive it was in the lives of the ancient Hebrews. Its centrality in worship of God made it an unforgettable experience. We have seen its encompassing nature. We are now ready to probe its far-reaching ramifications.
Jesus Lamb of God: “The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world’” (John 1:29).
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In our study thus far we have alluded to several concepts that need to be expounded in order to fully appreciate God’s work of atonement. One of those concepts is covenant. When the Hebrews lived and worshiped within the parameters of the covenant God gave to them through Moses, they had their sins “covered.” The blood sacrifice rituals they observed kept them in covenant relationship with God. They did not come into this fortuitous situation because they were a strong or numerous people. In fact, they “were the fewest of all peoples” (Deuteronomy 7:7). He chose them because He loved them and remained faithful to the promise He had made to their forefathers, beginning with Abram (Genesis 12:1-3; Deuteronomy 7:6-11). It is needful to note that God’s faithful promise to Abram was eventually to extend to all peoples of the earth. “And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3).
This promise was to be honored. However, the manner and method of its fulfillment could scarcely have been imagined by Abram or anyone else. It had to be revealed. We know the story of Abraham’s descendants into Egypt. We read of how they were released from Egyptian slavery by God’s almighty hand. We know of how they arrived at Mount Sinai. We see them receive a law from God through Moses.
Thus, we have before us a wandering patriarchal people at last transformed into a nation governed by covenant. This covenant was basically a legal document. There is no doubt that it is called a covenant (Heb. berith), or (Gr. diatheke) testament. These are legal terms. However, there was to be no separation between “law” and “religion,” or “church” and “state.” The covenant, or law, was their religion. It was also their “constitution.” Legal terms abounded. The laws they articulated were from God, and therefore religious in their very nature.
This is why torah (law) had such a comprehensive meaning throughout the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). For examples: Torah is used by the prophets to address the situations of their day. Hosea wrote God’s stinging words, “Like an eagle the enemy comes against the house of the Lord, / Because they have transgressed My covenant, / And have rebelled against my Law” (Hosea 8:1). The psalmist Asaph wrote of God’s appointed law in Israel and how “They did not keep the covenant of God, / And refused to walk in His Law” (Psalm 78:5a, 10a). The wisdom of Proverbs is seen in the warning to the young man to avoid the seductions of the adulteress who “…forgets the covenant of her God” (Proverbs 2:17b). Obviously, God’s people were required to obey the law (torah) to remain in covenant (berith) relationship with Him. In fact, the original Ten Commandments written on the tablets of stone, were referred to as the tablets of the covenant (Deuteronomy 9:9; 10:4). As we have seen, the place of torah and covenant runs wide and deep throughout the Hebrew Bible.
We now note something about the covenant that is of particular importance. It served as a complete directive for the Hebrews/Israelites/Jews. However, within it was word of a new covenant that was to come. Jeremiah was a prophet who lived during parts of the seventh and sixth centuries B.C. These were very turbulent times for the Israelite people. Jeremiah himself lived to see his people overwhelmed by foreign power. He spent his last days as an escapee in Egypt. During these terrible times, he tried to encourage the people with words about a new covenant (chadash berith). “‘Behold, days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will made a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,’ declares the Lord. ‘But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,’ declares the Lord. ‘I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,’ declares the Lord, ‘for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more’” (Jeremiah 30:31-34).
This prophecy lies at the heart of redemptive teaching in the New Testament. Jesus ate the last Passover meal with His apostles shortly before His death. During that time in the upper room where they were eating, Jesus did something startling. “While they were eating, He took some bread, and after a blessing He broke it, and gave it to them, and said, ‘Take it; this is My body.’ And when He had taken a cup, and given thanks, He gave it to them; and they all drank from it. And He said to them, ‘This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many’” (Mark 14:22-24).
Jesus gave His life (shed His blood) at His crucifixion (John 19:33-34; 1 John 5:6). He was buried almost immediately, and was raised from the dead the third day after (Acts 2:22-24, 32). Thus, the gospel of Christ (death, burial, and resurrection, 1 Corinthians 15:1-4) was the “good news” of salvation. The apostle Paul stated, “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation, to every one who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16).
John the Baptist and Jesus were contemporaries. Hundreds of years before this time, the great Messianic prophet Isaiah prophesied extensively concerning the coming Messiah. He had also spoken of one who would be His harbinger. Mark’s Gospel put it as follows: “The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: / ‘Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You, / Who will prepare Your way; / The voice of one crying in the wilderness, / Make ready the way of the Lord, / Make His paths straight.’” John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Mark 1:1-4).
One day John was preaching near Bethany beyond the Jordan River. He saw Jesus approaching and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). What a proclamation. All of the atonement imagery we have been studying floods into the mind. Remember the animal sacrifices in great numbers by the Jews under the old covenant? Blood flowed freely, reaching a crescendo every year on the Day of Atonement. Then, the rituals started all over again. Now, Jesus appears. He is not bringing an animal sacrifice. He is a Who, not an it! He is the sacrifice. “Behold, the Lamb of God!” Here we see not a multitude of animals offered continually, but one individual, the Lamb of God. His sacrifice of blood is efficacious. We are told that “… not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption” (Hebrews 9:12).
Why and how was the “old” system of Law (covenant), and sacrifice discontinued? The scriptures tell us that the first covenant was faulty. To be sure, one must not think of God as the originator of anything faulty in the sense of flawed or mistaken. That would be an affront to God. It was “faulty” in that it was utilitarian not all-sufficient; limited in scope, not all-encompassing. It was, in the cosmic perspective of things, figurative, or representative. “For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second” (Hebrews 8:7).
The Old Testament Law was utilitarian because it served a purpose. It was useful. “It was added because of transgressions … until the seed should come to whom the promise had been made” (Galatians 3:19). The reader may remember the promise made to Abram (Gen. 12:1ff) that in him all families on the earth would be blessed. The apostle Paul speaks precisely concerning the intent of the promises given to Abraham, “Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed” (Galatians 3:16). He does not say, ‘and to seeds’ as referring to many, but rather to one, ‘and to your seed, that is, Christ’. So, the Old Testament (Law) was added because of sins of the people. It was to remain in force until the Messiah (Christ) should come. It was removed as a way of salvation because salvation was not assured by law, but by promise God made to Abram 430 years before the Law was given, (Galatians 3:17-18). Although the Law served its purpose just as God intended, it was not sufficient for ultimate salvation. “Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor” (Galatians 3:24-25). The old Law (covenant) was utilitarian because it very usefully served God’s purpose and people. It was not all-sufficient because it was not designed to be God’s ultimate salvation plan for mankind.
The old law/covenant was limited in scope, not all-encompassing because it was given only to the Hebrews/Israelites/Jews. They were God’s chosen people. This theme was stressed for them through the centuries. Also, strangers were to be welcomed to submit to the law and receive the benefits afforded to them (Leviticus 17:15; 19:33-34). In this way, the old Law/covenant was limited to chosen people. It was not all-encompassing because it was limited to a certain historical period – from the time of Moses until the death of Jesus (the Law Remover).
At the death of Jesus we are told by Paul that Jesus “cancelled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (Colossians 2:14). The apostle Peter had spoken to the Pharisees who had believed but still insisted that unless the Gentile believers were circumcised they could not be saved. He said that God made no distinction between us [Jews] and them [Gentiles], cleansing their hearts by faith. The apostle Peter asked some of his fellow Jews who were trying to retain the law, “Now therefore why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?” Therefore, as Paul said, Jesus cancelled out the Law which was “against” us and “hostile” to us.
In our study of atonement, it is noteworthy to realize that many of the worship practices led by the Levites under the Law of Moses were, in the final analysis, figurative or representative. This is not to suggest those observances were not meaningful, or valid. They were. It is simply a way of saying that in God’s infinite scheme of things pertaining to our salvation, the practices had a greater significance than those participating in them realized. The following elaboration does not exhaust this point: It illustrates.
Earlier we stressed the great number and extensiveness of the blood sacrifices. They were offered on a continuing basis year after year. Yet, we are informed by Scripture that, “For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near” (Hebrews 10:1). In other words, in the mind of God there was no perfection reached in this way. Why? Because “… in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Hebrews 10:3-4). That being the case, what was the ultimate solution to the “sin problem” confronting God’s people under the Law? Well, so far as they were concerned, there was not a “problem.” They were following God’s will when they faithfully practiced the ascribed rituals. However, the mind of God has no limits. Even before God laid the foundation of the world, He knew that ultimate redemption would be by the sacrificial blood of Christ.
The Law itself made nothing perfect (Hebrews 7:19a). It is clear that copies (Hebrews 9:23, hupodeigma); shadows (Hebrews 8:5, skia); and symbols (Hebrews 9:9, parabole) were not intended to be God’s final remedy for sin. Jesus the Christ (Hebrew, yeshua hamashiah; Greek, Iesous Christos ), God’s uniquely born Son, is the victorious answer to the question of sin and its quilt. “For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions which were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance” (Hebrews 9:15). Indeed, “Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant” (Hebrews 7:22b). “… He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises” (Hebrews 8:6b).
Finally, as God’s Lamb, Jesus made a once-and-for-all sacrifice. It was not like any other. The sacrifice Jesus made was perfect, pure, priceless, and meritorious. It was the full expression of God’s love (agape, John 3:16). The sacrifice of Jesus opens up our only hope of salvation. His gracious sacrifice is what made it possible for Peter to proclaim, “For there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
This lesson is titled “God’s Salvation Provisions (1)”. We have shown that the true follower of Jesus Christ is in a highly privileged state because he has received the benefits of Christ’s sacrifice. The results of Jesus’ atoning sacrifice are described in many ways in Scripture. We now turn our attention to an analysis of these beneficial results.
Redemption: “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses…” (Colossians 1:7a).
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Earlier we stated that the saving work of God is a comprehensive wonder. Atonement, as we have seen, is a focal point. The cross of Christ reflects the extreme to which God was willing to go to save us from sin. His love for us motivated Him to do the unthinkable. What was so significant about Jesus’ death on the cross? As we probed God’s Word, we found that blood and life go hand in hand. Life is in the blood. Jesus shed His blood on the cross. That blood was offered for the forgiveness of our sins. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins. Animal sacrifices would not do. So, Jesus was God’s Lamb. He was the perfect sacrifice for our sins.
We have spoken of all of this. Have we exhausted the benefits of Christ’s sacrifice for us? We have not. Jesus’ shed blood is indeed the effective agent in washing away our sins. That tremendous sacrificial deed on Jesus’ part also makes it possible for us to open up the cornucopia of God’s accomplishments by the giving of His Son. We stand in amazement at the working power of that gift. We need to concentrate on redemption. The Scriptures remind us that redemption is in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:24b; Colossians 1:14). They also stress that redemption is “through His blood” (Ephesians 1:7a). It becomes obvious that redemption is a consequence of the atonement. So, we arrive at the conclusion that Jesus’ shed blood affects our redemption. How? “To redeem” (eutroo) means to be set free by a price paid. The imagery of slavery is fitting. “Slaves (douloi) of sin” (Romans 6:17a) are in bondage. They are not, of themselves, capable of obtaining their freedom from sin. Jesus, our Redeemer, paid the price for our redemption. Peter puts it succinctly when he writes, “… you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:18-19).
The invaluable price was paid. The results of this transaction are many, as indicated by the different metaphors by which it is described. As discussed previously, the blood of Jesus set aside the old covenant (testament) and ushered in the new covenant (testament). This gave life and reality to redemption.
(Basic Bible text: New American Standard Bible. Other translations are so noted)
