The Holy Bible is an amazingly unified text that encompasses the whole plan of God to bring salvation to man through Jesus Christ and complete all of history in our Savior (Ephesians 1:10). Knowing the plan of God helps us realize the meticulous detail by which He brought us eternal life through His wisdom, knowledge and love, for His good pleasure and praise (Ephesians 1:4-8).
Key to this plan are:
- The structural elements to bring salvation.
- The teaching elements to allow us to recognize the Savior.
In the last several blogs we’ve covered the plan of God throughout the Old Testament, especially the times of Israel in the desert and the prophets. This week let’s look at the times of the gospels and the church. These vital parts of scripture detail Christ’s coming, His sacrifice and resurrection, as well as the body of Christ (the church) and the commandments to Christians.
The Gospels
At the right time God sent His only begotten Son to the world to fulfill His promise of the coming Messiah who would save people from their sins (Isaiah 59:20-21). In doing so Christ presented the promised Kingdom to the Jews, indicating they should believe in Him as Messiah to save their souls and gain entrance into His kingdom. (Matthew 3:7; Matthew 4:16; Matthew 10:7; John 3:3,16). God sent John the Baptist as the prophesied forerunner to announce that the Messiah had arrived (Isaiah 40:3; Malachi 3:1; Malachi 4:5).
- Presentation – Important in the message of the gospels, Jesus proved His messiahship through:
- His lineage from King David (2 Samuel 7:14: Matthew 1, Luke 3).
- The virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14: Matthew 2:15).
- He would be called out of Egypt (Matthew 2:15).
- Fulfillment of specific Old Testament prophecies (please see prior section).
- His power and purity at the temptation (Matthew 4:1-12).
- His miracles (Isaiah 61:1 fulfilled in Luke 4:16; Isaiah 42:1-4 fulfilled in Matthew 12:7-10).
- The witness of God the Father (Matthew 3:14, Matthew 17:7, John 12:28).
- The witness of the Spirit (Matthew 3:14).
- His teaching in parables (Matthew 13:39; Psalm 78:2).
- His death (Matthew 27).
- His resurrection (Psalm 2:7-8, 16:8-10).
- Course of his ministry – The Jews rejected Christ’s claim of messiahship (Matthew 12:22-45). They crucified Him in an unjust death on the cross for which He died for our sins to provide a way of salvation. On the third day, Christ was resurrected from the dead (Matthew 28:1-10) to provide eternal life for all those who believe, by faith alone. He then appeared to the disciples, to the women and to 500 others (1 Corinthians 15:4-7). At Pentecost (Acts 1) He ascended from the Mount of Olives to heaven, so completing His work as Savior, He then sat down at the right hand of God the Father and sent His Spirit to begin the church (Acts 2:4).
The church
The church is the body of Christ. Its membership consists of all Christians (New Testament believers) under the headship of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13; Colossians 1:18). It began when Christ ascended to heaven and sent the Holy Spirit back to seal and empower believers (Acts 2:4; Ephesians 1:20-23). Christ tasked the apostles to spread the gospel across the world in the great commission (Matthew 28:19-20) and just before His ascension predicted the completion of His command (Acts 1:8). Its fulfilment is noted in Colossians 1:6.
The early church in Jerusalem (Acts 2-6) had the following characteristics. It was:
- Essentially Jewish
- Small in number
- Led by the apostles with help from deacons
- Presented with signs and wonders similar to the gospels, to connect Christ’s ministry with the apostles.
Importantly, God connected the message of Christ in the Gospels to the early church by Peter’s preaching and miracles.
Starting in Act 7 the church was persecuted and spread far from Jerusalem helping to fulfill Christ’s prediction (Acts 1:8). Saul was converted in Acts 9 and then called Paul. He was personally taught by Christ (2 Corinthians 12:2-5) and became the major apostle to complete the knowledge of the New Testament (Colossians 1:25; Ephesians 3:2-3) as well as designated as the apostle to the gentiles (non-Jewish peoples, Romans 15:16). Paul and the other apostles established local churches and God’s commandments (detailed in Romans through to Revelation 3) for the 2nd generation Christians and beyond (apostolic authority).
Characteristics of the more mature church were that it:
- Was very large in number
- Spread across the world (Colossians 1:6)
- Demonstrated God’s intended church structure, led by elders in every city and assisted by deacons
- Primarily gentile: though many congregations seemingly had a large proportion of Jews such as Rome, Corinth and northern Asia Minor.
- Experienced the completion of miraculous signs over time (Matthew 11:13; 1 Corinthians 13:8-13).
The commandment given by Christ mostly to Paul, as set down the epistles, is how God communicates in the current church age (Colossians 1:25; Ephesians 3:2-3; Hebrews 1:1-2). The church, acts as the body of Christ to accomplish His will, spread the gospel as well as to mature and nurture believers in their walk with God.
End Times
At the end of the church age God promises to conclude all things in Christ (Ephesians 1:10-11) which will involve the fulfillment of his covenant with Abraham and include His glorious return to bring all believers in Himself and to eternal life. Christ also will fulfill the promises given to the Jews for their Kingdom and their land, as part of the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant (Revelation 4-22; 1 Thessalonians 4, 5; 2 Thessalonians 1, 2). The details will be detailed incoming blogs.
Summary
God has initiated and will complete His marvelous plan of salvation. The plan began before all-time by God developing the plan of salvation through Christ, choosing His believers and then through the ages, convicting them, and dragging them to Himself. God then caused them to believe in Christ’s death and resurrection, and gave them positions of eternal security through their legal innocence and membership in God’s family and the church. He also sealed them by the Spirit, and created in them a new regenerated person.
By structure, this great salvation was accomplished through the Abrahamic Covenant which provided for the seed (who is Messiah {Galatians 3:16]) through Isaac to bring salvation to man as well as the physical seed of Israel through Jacob to provide the man Jesus Christ through the Covenant of David (2 Samuel 7:14). God will fulfill all His promises to His chosen individuals, and to Israel through Jesus Christ (Romans 11:29; Ephesians 3:6)
God will bring His believers to salvation for eternity with Him, providing us now with a great hope, confidence, and an anchor for our souls (Hebrews 6:19). Thanks be to God that we have such a blessed Savior! All honor and glory are due to God and Christ!
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William C. Stewart, MD
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