GOD'S PLAN
The Plan of Redemption
What is the plan of redemption? The first thing to do is address the definition of it and then we will address how to see this plan clearly in the Word of God.
Summary of God's Plan So Far
- God created a perfect world & a perfect Adam and Eve.
- God instructed Adam and Eve to not eat from the tree of knowledge, lest they die.
- God enables a fallen Lucifer (the serpent, Satan) to be in the Garden of Eden with Adam & Eve to offer an alternative to God. This enables Adam and Eve to choose of their own free will if they will follow God or not.
- Satan deceives Eve and Adam agrees to go along with her choice to not follow God.
- Sin enters the world and Adam & Eve are cast out of the Garden and their suffering increases immensely and they and all their offspring are doomed to die a physical death.
In the lesson on Free Will and Sin, we covered the reason why God offers us a choice and how sin is simply us not making the right one. Satan is allowed to offer us an alternative. At the time God stepped into the garden and confronted Adam and Eve with what they had done, He immediately replaced their fig leave aprons with coverings of skin (Gen 3:21). This is the first sign of the plan of redemption.
How the Word Reveals the Plan
The plan of redemption is spread throughout the Bible. It can be seen figuratively in Genesis 3 and then shows up in almost every book of the bible in some way or another, often in bits and pieces. For example, in John 3:16 (KJV) it is said, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” This tells us one of the reasons why God offers salvation, but not the full plan.
There are a few good reasons for this. First, it is said in Proverbs 25:2 (KJV) “It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.” God desires us to study His word and meditate on it, as shown in Psalms 1:2 (KJV), “But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” It is God’s desire for us to dig into His Word and really understand it.
When a teacher wants his or her students to really learn something, they don’t just tell them the right answer. They have them do their homework, research the topic, ask questions and slowly, over time come to grasp the real meaning of the topic.
In addition, God tells us in Isaiah 28:9-10 (KJV), “Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? Them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:” Another reason there isn’t one simple passage that clearly indicates the overall plan of redemption is that the Bible has a built-in defense mechanism that keeps any key concept from being discredited and removed. All of the key concepts are spread out over the entire canon, as this verse indicates.
Here a Little, There a Little – Old Testament Types of Christ
In Genesis 3:21 (KJV) it says, “Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.” Why would God give them tunics of skin when they had fig aprons already? Where does skin come from? An animal, of course. At the time this occurred, Adam and Eve were not eating animals, so in order to have a tunic of skin, an innocent animal had to be sacrificed, with its blood shed, in order to cover the sinfulness of the humans. When you are reading Genesis 3, most people read this and keep on going without giving it much thought. That’s why God’s Plan may not jump out at you when reading the whole Bible. However, if you are looking for it, you can piece it together.
In Exodus, God frees His people, the Hebrew salves, from their oppressive captors. This is symbolic of how Jesus frees us from the slavery of sin. It is through God’s power and miraculous acts that the Pharoah eventually gives in to God’s demands. The Hebrews didn’t have to do anything other than believe what they were being told to do. In Exodus 12 we see the story of the first Passover. In the Passover God punishes the unbelieving sinners and “passes over” the houses who have marked their doorways with innocent blood. In Exodus 12:13, it says, “Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.” Again, the people only had to believe and cover their doorways with the innocent blood in order to be spared the judgement of God.
In Exodus (chapter 17) God provides the people water from the rock. This is symbolic of how Jesus provides eternal life. In this event, Moses struck the rock to draw forth the water. This is symbolic of how Jesus was struck down and killed in order to provide eternal life (water). Jesus is the rock, as is symbolized throughout the Bible. Later in Number (chapter 20) Moses is told to speak to the rock to draw water from it again. The intent is to show that the second time Moses draws water out of the rock it is not struck but simply spoken to or asking the rock to produce life-giving water. This time represents Jesus in His second coming and His power to give everlasting life to those who ask.
In Exodus (chapters 25-40) Jesus’ redemptive power is seen through the design and construction of the tabernacle and the associated articles of worship. See the lesson on the Tabernacle for a more detailed description of this symbology.
In Leviticus the festivals and the sacrifices are described to the people and they are told to remember them annually. The festivals are also symbolic of pattern of redemption Jesus offers. See the lesson on Jewish Festivals for a more detailed description on this symbology. It was the sacrifices of spotless (innocent) animals that God demanded as forgiveness of sins, symbolizing what Jesus would do for the people.
In Deuteronomy 18:15 (KJV), it says, “The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear,” Moses prophecies about the coming of the Lord, calling him a Prophet.
In the book of Ruth, we see Boaz as the kinsman redeemer. This is a Jewish law that says if a husband dies before his wife has children, the next of kin that is not married must marry her to carry on the line for his kin. It may sound odd now, but at the time it was very common and expected. In this story a gentile woman, Ruth is widowed and left nearly destitute. Boaz comes along and saves the day in becoming the kinsman redeemer. This is like Christ in that the church is just as ruth, the gentile bride of Christ. Christ redeems the church and restores her to her place at the right hand of the Savior.
In Isaiah, Jesus is prophesied to be the suffering servant and the final sacrifice. In Isaiah 53:5 (KJV) it says, “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” We see that it is through Christ’s suffering that we are healed, not our own works. In Isaiah 53:11 Isaiah describes the ultimate sacrifice, “He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.”
In Jeremiah, Christ is seen as the fountain of living waters in chapter 2. He is again seen as the righteous branch, the coming shepherd and the Lord our Righteousness in Chapter 23. He is seen as the new covenant in chapter 31 and as the redeemer in chapter 50.
In Hosea, Christ is seen through Hosea’s redemption of the prostitute Gomer from the slave market. This shows Jesus as the loving, faithful redeemer of sinful humanity.
New Testament – Jesus Explains the Way
Jesus Himself tells us throughout the gospels of His intent. In John 3:16-18 (KJV), it says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” We are told that it is faith in Jesus that gives us eternal life.
A few verses earlier in John 3:14 (KJV), it says, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:” We see that Moses lifted up the bronze serpent (Numbers 21:6-9) to offer people a way to be healed. All they had to do was look at it and they would not die from the serpent bites. This is symbolic of Christ in that the bronze serpent, which represents sin was lifted up on a wooden pole, which happened to be shaped like a cross. At the time, they had no idea why this worked, but it did! It was a precursor to what Jesus would do much later. Jesus hung on a wooden cross to bear the sins of the world for those who believe in Him.
In John 14:3-6 (KJV), it says “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” In these verses we see two key principles. First is the Jesus must depart to go be at the right hand of the Father. He is going to prepare a place for the believers. This relates to the Jewish wedding theme, which is important to understand. See the lesson on the Symbolism of the Jewish Wedding for more information on this very interesting topic. In a quick summary, the Jewish bridegroom (Jesus) when he proposes to the bethrothed (bride to be, in this case the Church) has to go away to return to his fathers house and add on a room for the new family. That is what Jesus is speaking of here.
The second key point here is Jesus is telling us that He is the way , the truth and the life. In order to have eternal life, it is by believing in Him as our savior. This is the only way to eternal life with God.
The Holy Spirit is Our Helper
In Acts chapter 1, Jesus spends 40 days with the apostles after His resurrection, before His ascension. 10 days after His ascension the festival of Pentecost comes to fulfillment. In John 14:16-18 (KJV), it says, “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” This is what the Pentecost is all about. This talks of the presence of the Holy Spirit, dwelling within us. This is the Spirit of Christ in each of the believers. In the King James the term comforter is used. The Greek word for this is “paraklētos”, and is defined as one who comes to your aid, an advocate, a helper. Many other versions use the word helper. Jesus is telling us that he will be dwelling within each of the believers. It is in this way that God see the perfection of Jesus when looking at us.
Remember the wedding theme we just talked about? This is how Jesus and the church are one flesh! Jesus lives in each of us and we are his bride, making us one flesh. Jesus is the kinsman redeemer, who claims his gentile bride and restores us to the glory humanity had before the fall.
Saved By Grace
Paul gives us a wonderful explanation of the results of this justification in Romans chapter 5. In this we are told we are saved by grace and not by works. In Romans 5:3-4 (KJV) it says, “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope:” Here we can see that being a believer in Christ doesn’t remove the troubles in our life. We are to be glad for the “tribulations”, as these teach patience to endure suffering. That provides us with the experience to know that this life isn’t the most important one. We can learn to have hope in the one to come, where we apend it with our Lord.
In Romans 5:12 (KJV) we see “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” Adam brough sin into the world. Romans 5:15 (KJV) adds “But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.” This shows us that Jesus GIVES us the way to remove that sin.
The Rapture
In the end times, those believers who are alive at that time will be gathered together with Jesus, along with all of those who were believers at any time and have died. This is discussed in 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17 (KJV) “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” This is Christ returning for His bride. See the lesson on The Rapture for a more detailed analysis.
Marriage Supper
Then we see the next step in the plan. In Revelation 19:7-8 (KJV) it says, “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.” This shows that the bride are the saints. Saints is used to describe the believers throughout the New Testament. This takes place after the Rapture and before the second coming of Jesus, which follows in Revelation 19.
Summary
God let Adam and Eve and all who followed know that their sin condemns them to physical and spiritual death. God made it clear that to be forgiven for their sins, the people had to look to the sacrifice of an innocent life. They had to make these sacrifices regularly. God promised a savior would one day come and take away their sins once and for all, which happened with Jesus. God said he would be rejected and killed, making Him that innocent sacrifice. God said Jesus would have to leave and return to make a place for His bride but would leave behind the helper to aid the believers to live righteous lives. All of this has come to pass. God said He would return for His bride. This has yet to happen but can happen at any time! Are you ready?
Related Resources
Tabernacle
Jewish Festivals
Symbolism of the Jewish Wedding
The Rapture
