God's plan of salvation is fulfilled by Jesus sacrifice on the cross.
Ephesians 1:7-12 He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins. 8 He has showered His kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.
9 God has now revealed to us His mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill His own good pleasure.
10 And this is the plan: At the right time He will bring everything together under the authority of Christ, everything in heaven and on earth. 11 Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for He chose us in advance, and He makes everything work out according to His plan.
Luke 2:11 The Savior, yes, the Messiah, the Lord, has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!
Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”
In yesterday's post from Ephesians 1:1-6 we learned that God has always had a plan. God wasn't caught off guard and he didn't say "Oops!" when Adam and Eve disobeyed him for the first time. The plan was somewhat of a mystery for thousands of years, mankind had a glimpse of God's plan, but we didn't know too much about it until he was ready to reveal the details to us.
The mystery of God's plan started to be revealed in the prophets and then in the announcement of Jesus birth when the angels told the shepherds that the Savior was born. Jesus' teaching continued to unveil the mystery and show us that God planned to save the world, not just the Jews, through Jesus death.
We know that God is loving, merciful and kind but the plan of salvation also reveals that God demands justice and perfection in order to have a relationship with him, we need a sacrificial lamb to purify us and make us right in God's eyes.
Jesus sacrifice is final
| Hebrews 10:1, 4 The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. 4 For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. |
The only sacrifice that can cover my sins has been made and now I can enjoy a relationship with God for eternity. I didn't do anything to obtain this great favor with God, it is only because God is so rich in love and kindness that he wanted to make me right with him, what an awesome gift!
More scripture about God's plan: 2 Timothy 1:9-10
