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Navigation: Index >> Previous >> Next 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, emphasis
added).
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).
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
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, emphasis added).
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, emphasis added). The NASB has “… he tried to reconcile them in peace” (emphasis
added). 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).
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 descendents 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
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
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, emphasis added).
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
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. He does not say, ‘and to
seeds’ as referring to many, but rather to one, ‘and to your seed, that is, Christ’ ” (Galatians 3:16, emphasis
added). 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, emphasis added). 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).
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. (Basis Bible text: New American Standard Bible. Other translations are so noted) |
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