The Accomplished Plan of Salvation (1)

The Accomplished Plan of Salvation (1)

September 1st, 2015, Kichijouji Bible Study

Gotthold Beck

Genesis

3:21 The Lord God fashioned garments from animal skins for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.

3:22 Later, the Lord God said, “Look! The man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, so he won’t reach out, also take from the tree of life, eat, and then live forever―”

3:23 therefore the Lord God expelled the man from the garden of Eden so he would work the ground from which he had been taken.

3:24 After he had expelled the man, the Lord God placed winged angels at the eastern end of the garden of Eden, along with a fiery whirling sword, to prevent access to the tree of life.

[International Standard Version]

4:1 Later, Adam had sexual relations with his wife Eve. She became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “I have given birth to a male child with the Lord.”

4:2 She also gave birth to his brother Abel. Abel shepherded flocks and Cain became a farmer.

4:3 Later, Cain brought an offering to the Lord from the fruit that he had harvested,

4:4 while Abel offered the best parts of some of the firstborn from his flock. The Lord looked favorably upon Abel and his offering.

Ephesians

1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah! He has blessed us in the Messiah with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm,

1:4 just as he chose us in the Messiah before the creation of the universe to be holy and blameless in his presence. In love

1:5 he predestined us for adoption to himself through Jesus the Messiah, according to the pleasure of his will,

1:6 so that we would praise his glorious grace that he gave us in the Beloved One.

1:7 In union with him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our offenses, according to the riches of God’s grace.

John

17:1 After Jesus had said this, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, so that the Son may glorify you.

17:2 For you have given him authority over all humanity so that he might give eternal life to all those you gave him.

17:3 And this is eternal life: to know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent―Jesus the Messiah.

17:4 I glorified you on earth by completing the task you gave me to do.

17:5 “So now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world existed.

In our last meeting, we discussed the unimaginably desperate situation that Adam was put into. It was an extremely difficult situation where he could find no hope at all. It looked as if Adam had to remain as a slave of the devil and of his own sin forever. The devil must have been so delighted. “I won. The intention of God has failed. All humans will be my slaves forever.” He must have exclaimed triumphantly.

Was this the end of the whole story? No, it was not. The intention of the Lord God was to save all these degenerate and miserable human beings. However, here arose an extremely difficult problem which was beyond our imagination. Because the Lord God was totally sacred, he had to carry out his duty as the judge of the entire human race. If he refused to punish their sins, it meant that he had condoned their sins and compromised with sinners.

This was absolutely unacceptable for him. The Lord would neither leave any sin unpunished nor let sinners remain without being thrown out. However, because of the perfect love he had, the Lord God chose to become their savior.

The Lord himself came down to this world as Jesus and became human. This was such a wonderful 'way out', which was impossible to express with words. The plan of salvation of the Lord God, as this sermon was titled so far, had to be accomplished. It was for this reason that the Lord God had to become human.

2 Corinthians

5:19 for through the Messiah, God was reconciling the world to himself by not counting their sins against them. He has committed his message of reconciliation to us.

The title of this sermon is, as I just mentioned, “The Lord has Completely Accomplished his Plan of Salvation.” Alternatively, it can be shortened as “Accomplished Plan of Salvation.” I would like to divide the discussion into three parts.

Firstly, the God of Trinity who suffers. Secondly, the Incarnation of Jesus. And thirdly, the sacrificial death of Jesus.

Let us begin with the God of Trinity, who still suffers. I believe that the cross was made in heaven before it was placed on this ground. Even before the creation of the human race, the mind of our Father God was set to sacrifice his son by being pierced by swords. The Lord God predicted that the human race would fall into sins and it made the God of Trinity deeply distressed. It can be seen from the next few verses.

2 Corinthians

5:19 for through the Messiah, God was reconciling the world to himself by not counting their sins against them. He has committed his message of reconciliation to us.

1 Timothy

3:16 By common confession, the secret of our godly worship is great: In flesh was he revealed to sight, kept righteous by the Spirit’s might, adored by angels singing. To nations was he manifest, believing souls found peace and rest, our Lord in heaven reigning.

Acts

20:28 Pay attention to yourselves and to the entire flock over which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to be shepherds of God’s church, which he acquired with his own blood.

Look at the expression, “God’s church, which he acquired with his own blood.” These words not only prove the divinity of Jesus but indicate how the three persons of Trinity are truly unified as one. Before heaven and earth were created, Jesus was always known as the lamb of God.

1 Peter

1:18 For you know that it was not with perishable things like silver or gold that you have been ransomed from the worthless way of life handed down to you by your ancestors,

1:19 but with the precious blood of the Messiah, like that of a lamb without blemish or defect.

1:20 On the one hand, he was foreknown before the creation of the world, but on the other hand, he was revealed at the end of time for your sake.

Revelations

13:8 All those who had become settled down and at home, living on the earth, will worship it, everyone whose name had not been written in the Book of Life belonging to the lamb that had been slaughtered since the foundation of the world.

In some version of the Scripture, he was described as “the lamb that had been slaughtered since the foundation of the world.” The God of Trinity, that is to say, Father God, the Son the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit have prepared the wonderful way out for us. It was the accomplishment of the salvation. Jesus has confessed this way:

John

14:10 You believe, don’t you, that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own. It is the Father who dwells in me and who carries out his work.

14:11 Believe me, I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Otherwise, believe me because of what I’ve been doing.

Luke

4:1 Then Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.

Jesus was led by the Spirit as was written in here:

Colossians

2:9 because all the essence of deity inhabits him in bodily form.

The God of Trinity has prepared the way out for us, which is the lamb, the Lord Jesus.

2 Corinthians

5:19 for through the Messiah, God was reconciling the world to himself.

Galatians

3:13 The Messiah redeemed us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written, “A curse on everyone who is hung on a tree!”

Hebrews

9:14 how much more will the blood of the Messiah, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead actions so that we may serve the living God!

Among these verses we just read, the Creator is mentioned in the second Corinthians. The verse from the Galatians explains the Savior instead of the Creator. And the last verse we just read from the Hebrews is about the Holy Spirit who is within us to help us. The way out prepared by the God of Trinity for us is Jesus himself, who was crucified. It is the Lord Jesus, the prophesied lamb. This was predicted everywhere throughout the Old Testament.

Genesis

3:21 The Lord God fashioned garments from animal skins for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.

In order to cover up the sin that Adam had committed, the blood of the one who had no debt had to be shed. This lamb who apparently loved Adam more than anyone else had to die on behalf of him. This lamb totally trusted Adam. However, it was in order to bear the sin of Adam that this lamb, who blindly trusted Adam and who had no debt at all, had to be slaughtered.

Not only in the Old Testament but also in the New Testament, the blood of the lamb always symbolizes the sacrificial death for sinners. Adam did not resist when God prepared a cloth for him but put it on. Adam, the first man who committed a sin, was at the same time, the first man who was saved through faith. Through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Adam believed in the word of the slaughtered lamb of God. Since then, humans have been offering lambs as sacrifices to God to bear their sins; it has been to obey the intention of God.

Genesis

4:2 She also gave birth to his brother Abel. Abel shepherded flocks and Cain became a farmer.

4:3 Later, Cain brought an offering to the Lord from the fruit that he had harvested,

4:4 while Abel offered the best parts of some of the firstborn from his flock. The Lord looked favorably upon Abel and his offering.

Abel offered a lamb as a sacrifice. He knew that he was a sinner and admitted his sinfulness. However, through this incident, Abel showed the wonderful way out, that is to say, the sacrificial death of our representative.

Abel offered his lamb because he believed in the word of God. He obeyed the Lord, although he could not understand the meaning of what was demanded of him. I would like to read from chapter 12 of Exodus, although it is a relatively long chapter, since this is an extremely important book.

Exodus

12:1 The Lord told Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,

12:2 “This month will mark the beginning of months for you. It will be the first month of the year for you.

12:3 Tell the entire congregation of Israel, ‘On the tenth of this month they’re each to take a lamb for themselves, according to their ancestors’ households, one lamb for each household.

12:4 If a household is too small for a lamb, then it and its closest neighbor are to obtain one based on the number of individuals―dividing the lamb based on what each person can eat.

12:5 Your lamb is to be a year old male without blemish. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats.

12:6 It is to remain under your care until the fourteenth day of this month, and then the entire assembly of the congregation of Israel is to slaughter it at twilight.

12:7 They’re to take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat the lamb.

12:8 That very night they’re to eat the meat, roasted over the fire, with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.

12:9 Don’t eat any of it raw or boiled in water. Instead, roast it over the fire, with its head, legs, and internal organs.

12:10 Don’t leave any of it until morning, and whatever does remain of it until morning you are to burn in the fire.

12:11 “‘This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. You are to eat it hurriedly―it’s the Lord’s Passover.

12:12 I’ll pass through the land of Egypt that night and strike every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both people and animals. I’ll execute judgments on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord.

12:13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are. I’ll see the blood and pass over you. There will be no plague to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

12:29 And so at midnight the Lord struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock.

12:30 Pharaoh got up during the night, he, all his officials, and all the Egyptians, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead in it.

All those who believed in his word at the night of the Passover slaughtered lambs, respected the value of the blood shed there, ate the lambs and were accepted. The Lord clearly declared that it was the way of salvation prepared for them.

The people of Israel always offered lambs in the wilderness. One thing is clearly shown throughout the Bible - from Genesis to the Revelation. That is to say, the way out prepared by God is the slaughtered lamb—the Lord Jesus, who was crucified.

Believers in the eras of the Old and New Testament received eternal lives because of their faith in the lamb of God. What is faith? Faith is to believe in the word of the Lord God and to act based on his word.

Adam believed in the word of God and put on a cloth made by the Lord God without hesitation. Abel believed in the word of the Lord God and slew a lamb to compensate for his sins. If believers from the era of Old and New Testament ask us, “How is your relationship with the Lord God?” we would answer, “We used to be miserable sinners. However, now we are saved by the grace of the Lord God and through our faith. We are children of God, the Creator who is still alive.”

Genesis

3:21 The Lord God fashioned garments from animal skins for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.

3:22 Later, the Lord God said, “Look! The man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, so he won’t reach out, also take from the tree of life, eat, and then live forever―”

3:23 therefore the Lord God expelled the man from the garden of Eden so he would work the ground from which he had been taken.

3:24 After he had expelled the man, the Lord God placed winged angels at the eastern end of the garden of Eden, along with a fiery whirling sword, to prevent access to the tree of life.

In these verses, the word 'us' is used. The word, 'Lord' also appears a number of times. The Lord God, needless to say, refers to the God of Trinity. In Hebrew language, the word 'God' is used in a plural form in these verses. This God of Trinity opened the way out to save fallen human beings.

The second verse begins with, “The Lord God said.” This Lord refers to God, who always reveals himself through Jesus. Although the Lord God gave Adam an opportunity to take a fruit from the tree of life; as a punishment for his sin, Adam had to be expelled from the Garden of Eden.

However, if Adam had chosen the way out prepared by God, he would have reached the way that led him to the eternal life. What was the way out of the Lord God? It was the sacrificial death of Jesus, the lamb of God for and on behalf of all human beings who are full of sins.

Then, why did the Lord God have to place winged angels at the eastern end of the Garden of Eden, along with a fiery whirling sword? It was because the devil desperately wanted to block the road that led to the Tree of Life. The winged angels, cherubim, signify the sacredness of God and love of the Lord. With the sacredness and love of the Lord, he prepared the way that leads to the eternal life for mankind, which had fallen to sin.

Romans

5:12 Just as sin entered the world through one man, and death resulted from sin, therefore everyone dies, because everyone has sinned.

5:16 Nor can the free gift be compared to what came through the man who sinned. For the sentence that followed one man’s offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift brought justification, even after many offenses.

5:17 For if, through one man, death ruled because of that man’s offense, how much more will those who receive such overflowing grace and the gift of righteousness rule in life because of one man, Jesus the Messiah!

5:18 Consequently, just as one offense resulted in condemnation for everyone, so one act of righteousness results in justification and life for everyone.

5:19 For just as through one man’s disobedience many people were made sinners, so also through one man’s obedience many people will be made righteous.

As I mentioned in the previous Bible meeting, the sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus, the lamb of God as the representative of the entire human race, is the way out prepared by God. However, Jesus, the Son of God could not sacrifice his own life unless he came down to this world. Jesus did not come here to teach something. It was to die. He took a human form and was born into this world in order to die.

In the Scripture, this mystery of the incarnation of Jesus is explained in many parts. For example, not only was he prophesied to become human, but the divinity of Jesus was revealed and the humanity of Jesus was put into practice.

It has been prophesied since thousands of years ago that Jesus would become a human. Jesus agreed to die as the lamb of God even before the creation of this world. The answer of the Lord God toward the arrogance of human beings was the sacrificial death of his son, Jesus. I suppose the incarnation of Jesus was implied for the first time in Genesis, chapter 3, verse 15.

Genesis

3:15 I’ll place hostility between you and the woman, between your offspring and her offspring. He’ll strike you on the head, and you’ll strike him on the heel.

The Lord God thus declared to the snake, who was the devil. It is stated that the one who was born of this woman was filled with extraordinary strength. It is also clearly written that this man was a descendant of a woman.

We also should pay special attention to the peculiarity of this expression. Most of the time, when a child is born, it is generally expressed that the child was born as a descendant of the man. Contrarily, this Son, Jesus, did not need a biological father to be born into this world. It was for this reason that he was described as 'her offspring', a descendant of a woman. It was prophesied that this descendant of a woman would strike the devil on his head. In other words, it was prophesized that this savior would defeat the devil.

The incarnation of Jesus was also predicted in the Book of Isaiah.

Isaiah

7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Watch! The virgin is conceiving a child, and will give birth to a son, and his name will be called Immanuel.

The name ‘Immanuel’ means that "God is with us." In this name, it was prophesied that within one man, which referred to Jesus, would dwell two lives; the life of God which was not created by anything and the life of humans that was created by God. God himself will live among us human beings as this name implied. It was prophesied that the Lord God would take the appearance of human beings.

Isaiah

9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

9:7 Of the growth of his government and peace there will be no end. He will rule over his kingdom, sitting on the throne of David, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of the Heavenly Armies will accomplish this.

If Jesus was just one of the ordinary people, he would never have had such names. It is clearly prophesied in the Book of Micah where Jesus would be born. This was prophesied hundreds of years ago even before the birth of Jesus.

Micah

5:2 As for you, Bethlehem of Ephrathah, even though you remain least among the clans of Judah, nevertheless, the one who rules in Israel for me will emerge from you. His existence has been from antiquity, even from eternity.

The Bible explains plainly that Jesus was the Son of God who took the form of a human. To save the fallen human beings, God, the Creator, became a man. The Lord Jesus, the eternal God who has no beginning and no end, first became the Son of God and then became human. Jesus himself was the revelation of God that was manifested through human flesh. The God of Trinity worked with Jesus in a human body.

So far, we have been discussing the divinity and humanity of Jesus. Now, before we finish this sermon, let us look at how the divinity of Jesus can be proved.

Firstly, the true living God himself has testified the divinity of Jesus.

Matthew

3:16 When Jesus had been baptized, he immediately came up out of the water. Suddenly, the heavens opened up for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him.

3:17 Then a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love. I am pleased with him!

17:5 He was still speaking when a bright cloud suddenly overshadowed them. A voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love. I am pleased with him. Keep on listening to him!”

John

8:18 I am testifying about myself, and the Father who sent me is testifying about me.

5:37 Moreover, the Father who sent me has himself testified on my behalf. You have never heard his voice or seen what he looks like.

This was the testimony of the Father God himself. Now, let us look at how Jesus testified about himself.

John

8:14 Jesus answered them, “Even though I am testifying about myself, my testimony is valid because I know where I have come from and where I am going. But you do not know where I come from or where I am going.

10:30 I and the Father are one.”

Jesus made it clear that they could never be separated.

Mark

3:11 Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they would fall down in front of him and scream, “You are the Son of God!”

Luke

4:41 Even demons came out of many people, screaming, “You are the Son of God!” But Jesus rebuked them and ordered them not to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah.

Nothing should be more important for us than to know Jesus. We ought to keep praying sincerely for ourselves in order to understand Jesus to a greater degree all the time.