God's Plan of Salvation -5
In the due passage of time as we have seen we come to that point in history when the Messiah is born.
We are of course familiar with the fact that Jesus was born in stable in Bethlehem, just as we are familiar with the fact that he lived for thirty years in relative obscurity and then after three years of teaching was crucified, died and was buried in the garden.
And that is all true but misses the point of the Plan of Salvation. Here tonight we must try to establish that which is important in all this.
Let us for sake of argument assume that since we are all followers of Christ gathered here tonight we do not doubt that Jesus was and is the Living Son of God. Let us also assume that we are decent Bible believing Christians who accept the Biblical events as real events, and by that I mean we accept that Jesus was born, born indeed to Mary, the Virgin and that he lived, died properly and was raised to life by the Father and he is part of the triune God whom we worship.
I think we can all agree with that - if not then perhaps we shouldn't be here to share in communion - but that said if you are an honest seeker after truth then know that, that is what we believe!
What is important to understand is that Jesus came into this world by the direct plan and action of God. He was born human. With all that that entails. He was in a way we will never truly understand in this life truly God and truly man. When he was a child he thought as a child, played as a child, learned as a child. He suffered as we suffer. He wept as we wept. He laughed as we laughed. He ate as we ate, drank as we drank. He was limited in his actions by his physical body - a body that grew tired and sore just as ours does. You see for us this is what is of prime importance - The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Or as John puts it in Chapter 1 in the GNB:" The Word became a human being and, full of grace and truth, lived among us." And there it is the Word became a human being!
Now that it of extreme importance to the understanding of the Plan of Salvation.
Think back if you will to the FALL. What fell was not only all of creation but man - our actual physical human bodies that the Lord made for us to dwell in forever - fell - IT WAS ALL CONTAMINATED AND POLLUTED BY THE EFFECTS OF THE FALL.
In order to redeem us and prepare us for the new heaven and the new earth God required amongst other things payment for our sins. Punishment needed to to be meted out and judgement exacted. How could our polluted and fallen bodies ever be in heaven?
Now here we move into difficult territory for if I state the case too simply then it will sound absurd and limit God to being able only to respond rather than initiate and salvation will reduced to some necessary mechanical process however to go into this in great depth will be to lose ourselves in speculative theology - so with that in mind let us endeavour to understand as best we are able the exact working of the plan of salvation at this moment in time.
There are several parts to this.
Let's take it slowly step at a time.
Point One: In order to redeem our bodies, Christ himself took on human form in order to return to heaven via the cross having redeemed our fallenness.
Point Two: We have no existence without our bodies. We are not destined to be wraith like figures haunting the halls of eternity. We were made in the image of God and as God made us that included our bodies. In Jesus, we find the corrective to the FALL. We see the mechanism by which our fallen humanity can be restored to perfection.
Point Three: Jesus was exactly like us in all respects and most importantly he knew temptation! He had a will, a mind, a heart and a soul and emotions. We find it recorded that he was angry, sad, lonely, afraid, hungry, thirsty, pressured .... worn out ......
Like us in every respect except that he was without sin. Please note that and in passing that temptation is not sin!
Point Four: While on the earth one of the main tasks that Jesus had to fulfil was to found the Church. After all there was no point in opening the gates to heaven and winning redemption for us unless we knew the mechanism by which we were to be redeemed. So his three year mission was to establish the Church and to give to it the necessary body of teaching and understanding that would allow all those who would follow to come to salvation. Or if we want to put it another way in the coming of Jesus the old covenant draws to a close and a new covenant between God and man is created. The days of long preparation are over and in the new covenant the way to heaven is opened to all who will believe.
Point Five: Having given the teaching the time came to die for our sins and actually open the way to heaven - so that this part of God's plan would come to fruition. Now as to the actual nature of his death we must lay that aside in order to give it proper treatment tomorrow, however let it be understood that Jesus died to redeem our bodies and the world as well as our souls.
Point Six: When Jesus had risen in the gloriously redeemed body that will one day be ours he ascended into heaven. He did not ascend as a spirit that is as some ghost like figure but as a human being. And while his resurrection body was undoubtedly spiritual it was also solid and real...after all didn't Jesus tell Thomas to come and touch him - didn't he eat fish and sit down with his disciples.
Jesus was both man and God - when he was raised from death he was the firstfruits as the Bible says. For example in 1st Corinthians 15 we read: "For just as death came by means of one man, in the same way the rising from death comes by means of a man. For just as all people die because of their union with Adam, in the same way all will be raised to life because of their union with Christ. But each one will be raised in his proper order: Christ first of all, then, at the time of his coming, those who belong to him."
Listen also to PAUL later in the same letter: "When the body is buried, it is mortal; when raised it will be immortal. When buried it is ugly and weak, when raised it will be beautiful and strong. When buried it is a physical body; when raised it will be a spiritual body...... The first man. Adam was created a living being but the last Adam is a life giving spirit.....the first Adam made of the earth came from the earth... the second Adam came from heaven..... Just as we wear the likeness of the man made of earth so we will wear the likeness of the Man from heaven.
Point Seven: Let us truly understand that in Christ the fall is reversed and we see man as he should be and will be.
Point Eight: With the ascension of Christ into heaven the plan is fulfilled nothing more can be added to it - it is all in place - God's Plan has been brought to fruition in one sense. However while it is fulfilled it is not yet complete. In other words there is nothing else that needs to be done - it is like pregnancy - once the baby is established and growing it is as it were complete there is nothing further that a man or woman can do it. It simply requires time for it to be brought to an end. That then is the stage we are at in the Plan of Salvation. Indeed Paul likens our present state to the state we call labour or as he put it the birth pangs.
Point Nine: Now there are many more points that could be drawn out from this but for the moment let it suffice to consider some aspects of the teaching of Jesus.
Firstly he purified the law given by God by removing from it the earthly and priestly additions. Please note that although I am numbering these points I do so for our convenience they are not numbered to in any sense prioritise or give a value to them.
Secondly he laid the foundations for the new covenant church - laying down for example the very sacrament of communion itself.
Thirdly he made it plain to all who had ears to hear how we were to gain entry into heaven. This point then needs to be clearly understood. Our only access to heaven is through Jesus. We need to come to Jesus. And how ever uncomfortably this may sit with certain folk nevertheless it remains true : we must be born again. We have the very words of Jesus himself on this matter they are also very clear: "I am telling you the truth, " says Jesus to Nicodemus, "no one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again."
Now many people came to Jesus and many as Jesus said were close to the Kingdom of God...but failed to make it because they hadn't been born again or converted whatever you want to call it tonight in your heart. What was true then is true now also. There are many, some indeed I suspect who will sit at the table tonight who don't really know if they in the Kingdom of God or close to the Kingdom of God or nowhere near it.
This is sad. But can be easily rectified - have you now or at any time in the past given your whole life over to God, totally, completely and without reservation and asked the Lord to be the Lord of your life? If you have you have opted in to the Kingdom of God. If you haven't then the solution to your dilemma is simple isn't it? Do it now in the time of prayer.....
However this is in some way to digress from our main theme and yet in truth it only adds to our understanding of the nature of God's Plan of Salvation.
So then let us recall what we have learned of the Plan so far.
1. God created a perfect world.
2. The Fall was cosmic and total and caused by man's disobedience.
3. God called Abraham to be the Father of his chosen race.
4. God founds Israel - through Moses the law and covenant is made
5. God reveals the coming of the Messiah, particularly through prophets like Isaiah.
6. Jesus comes into the world in the Incarnation, to live amongst us and teach us.
7. Jesus dies for our sins and opens the gates to heaven.