Sunday, September 6, 2015 am
GOD’S PLAN FOR MAN’S REDEMPTION -3
We
have been discussing God’s plan of redemption for mankind.
We have opened the pages of scripture beginning with the fall of
man and established that God has a plan even before the
foundation of the world. We
have a seed and throne promise made and brought to its completion in
Christ Jesus. Last week we
discussed this fulfillment and spent some times addressing the blood of
Jesus. We see in Him our
hope for salvation.
Today we want to notice a few other aspects of God’s plan – namely, the
Law of Moses and His word.
a.
As you study scripture
you find that water been an important part of God’s plans in various
ways.
- God used water to
cleanse the earth of sinfulness, but He spared Noah in the ark.
1 Peter 3:20-21 shows how this is a type of salvation to us.
- It was by crossing through water that Israel was saved from the
Egyptians (1 Cor. 10:1-2, Exodus 14, esp. vs. 13, 30 – the LORD saved
Israel).
- Before the priests entered the tabernacle had to wash themselves (Ex.
29:4). There was a “bath” in
front of the tabernacle.
As the tabernacle was prepared there was a bath between the altar of
burnt offering and the tabernacle (Ex. 30:17-21)
- Psalm 51:1-2, a penitential psalm of David, as he calls upon God to
have mercy on him he says, “Blot
out my transgressions. Wash
me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.”
David realized the need for cleansing from his sins.
b.
In the New Testament,
water is the element God has assigned for us to wash away our sins.
i.
As John was preaching a
baptism of repentance “for the remission of their sins” (Luke 3:3)
He baptized with water (Luke 3:16, John 3:23 tells us he baptized
in Aenon near Salim, “because there was much water there.”
Jesus was baptized by
John in the Jordan “to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:13-16).
This was the beginning of His ministry.
ii.
In John 3:5, Jesus told
Nicodemus; unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter
the kingdom of God.
iii.
As He gave His apostles
the “great commission” he commanded them to baptize (Matthew 28:18-20,
Mark 16:15-16)
iv.
Acts 22:16-17 – wash
away your sins calling on the name of the Lord
v.
1 Peter 3:20-21 – as
Noah and his family were saved through water, so “baptism now saves us.”
vi.
Hebrews 10:19-22 – let
us draw near with a true heart…have our hearts sprinkled from an evil
conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
vii.
Romans 6:3-4, when we
are baptized, we are baptized into His death.
We are buried with Him in baptism and raised to walk in newness
of life.
viii.
This is the bringing
together of the water and the blood.
See 1 John 5:6-8 in its proper context – there are three that
bear witness – the Spirit, the water and the blood.
c.
NOTE: There is nothing
mystical or miraculous in the water, it is simply an act of obedience
through faith. But we can see the importance of water in God’s plan for
our redemption.
a.
A covenant is a binding
agreement between two parties (similar to a contract).
It may be unconditional or conditional determined by the parties
of that agreement.
b.
God’s plans were
addressed in terms of covenants
–
i.
Genesis 3:15 – the seed
promise announced after Adam and Eve sinned.
ii.
Genesis 6:18 – God said
He would establish His covenant with Noah (before the flood).
Genesis 9:8-17After the flood, He made a covenant with Noah that He
would never again destroy the world by flood (the rainbow was the sign
of the covenant.
iii.
Gen. 15:18, He made a
covenant with Abram concerning his descendants (related to the seed
promise) that they would receive the Promised Land.
iv.
Genesis 17 discusses a
covenant that involved him and his descendants as “an everlasting
covenant” (17:7) On that
occasion He established the covenant of circumcision
for him and his descendants.
v.
Exodus 2:24 – while
slaves in Egypt, God remembered His covenant with Abraham.
Moses would become their deliverer.
c.
The Law of Moses was given at Mt. Sanai
– the first covenant
i.
The Law of Moses was
referred to as “the first covenant” – Hebrews 8:7, 9:1, 15, 18.
It is contrasted with a new (second) covenant – (Heb. 8:7, 13).
ii.
This covenant included
the 10 commandments (Exodus 20:1-17) and other laws that are addressed
in Exodus and Leviticus and reemphasized in Deuteronomy.
NOTE: For purposes of fulfillment, these cannot be separated, though
some try to distinguish between them (i.e. Sabbatarians who say we must
keep the 10 commandments [which they call the “Law of God” but not the
“ceremonial law of Moses”).
The Bible makes no such distinction.
In Luke 24:44, Jesus made reference to the three Hebrew divisions
of the Old Testament (the 39 books we now have, though they combined
many of them). In
fact, a study of fulfilled prophecies that make reference to the Law
are found in reference to all 5 books of Moses AND the psalms AND
prophets. Consider:
1.
Genesis 16:15 –
Galatians 4:21-31 – Ishmael (Hagar) and Isaac (Sarah)
2.
Exodus 20:17 – Romans
7:7 – “you shall not covet”
3.
Leviticus 19:18 – Matt.
22:39 – the 2nd commandment to love your neighbor as yourself
4.
Numbers 28:9-10 –
Matthew 12:5 – priests offered sacrifices on the Sabbath and are
blameless (have you not read in the law)
5.
Deuteronomy 6:5 –
Matthew 22:36-37 – the first commandment (“Which
is the great commandment in the Law?”) to love God with all your
heart…
6.
Psalm 82:6 – John 10:34
– “you are gods” – “Written in your law”
7.
Isaiah 28:11 – 1 Cor.
14:21, “In the Law it is written…”
These passages
demonstrate that when we speak of the first covenant – it includes both
the 10 commandments and all of the teachings of Moses.
iii.
After arriving at Mount
Sinai, the Lord commanded Moses to speak to the people saying, “‘You
have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’
wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed
obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special
treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you
shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the
words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”” (Exodus
19:4–6)
iv.
After the LORD spoke the
Ten Commandments, we read of numerous laws given to the children of
Israel (Exodus 20-23).
Following this Moses tells the people all the words of the Lord and all
His judgments. Exodus 24:3
records that the people with one voice said, “All the words which the
LORD has said we will do.”
Moses wrote the words of the LORD and then built an altar at the foot of
Mt. Sinai and offered burnt and peace offerings to the LORD.
“And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins, and half
the blood he sprinkled on the altar. Then he took the Book of the
Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All
that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient.” And Moses took the
blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of
the covenant which the Lord has made with you according to all these
words.”” (Exodus 24:6–8)
d.
But the people broke the
covenant with God.
i.
God was NEVER unfaithful
to His word, but continually Israel was.
Even while Moses was on Mt. Sinai they turned away from the
covenant (Deut. 9:15-16).
ii.
Ezekiel 20:10-13 records
some of their continued rebellion against His statutes and judgments in
the wilderness
iii.
Jeremiah 31:32 while
speaking of making a new covenant notes that Israel broke the covenant.
iv.
In essence the LORD
declared He was no longer obligated to them.
Within the prophets this covenant is likened to a marriage and
Israel was unfaithful by following after other gods and rejecting Him
and His Law. The prophet
Hosea was called to marry a harlot to illustrate this unfaithfulness and
demonstrate WHY they were being put away.
e.
Because of this the Lord
promises to make a new covenant –
i.
Jeremiah 31:31-34 describes this
promise. ““Behold, the
days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the
house of Israel and with the house of Judah—not according to the
covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by
the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they
broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the
covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,
says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their
hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more
shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying,
‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to
the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity,
and their sin I will remember no more.”” (Jeremiah 31:31–34)
f.
Jesus came to fulfill the Old Law –
i.
Matthew 5:17-18 – early
in His teaching he notes that He came not to destroy but to fulfill the
Old Law. In fact He is clear
that it will remain in effect until “all is fulfilled”.
ii.
When Jesus died, He took the Old Law (first covenant) out of the way,
having nailed it to the cross – Col. 2:13-14.
Ephesians 2:14-16 speaks of having abolished in His flesh the
enmity (between Jews and Gentiles), “that
is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in
Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace,
and that He might reconcile
them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting
to death the enmity.”
iii.
Hebrews 8 -10 explains the necessity of this as Jesus is a High Priest
(but not a Levite), and because the Old Law could not take away sins
permanently (a better sacrifice was needed).
Hebrews 8:7 says, “For if that first covenant had been
faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.”
We then have Jeremiah 31:31-34 quoted.
Hebrews 8:13 says, ““In
that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what
is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.”
iv.
Galatians 3:15-24
further elaborates on this:
1.
3:15-18 – Paul revisits
the covenant made to Abraham (concerning his seed – Gen. 12:1-3).
He notes that this promise was made some 430 years BEFORE the Law
of Moses (cf. Gen. 15:13) and notes that it (the Law) could not nullify
that promise.
2.
3:19-23 – what then is
the purpose of the Law (of Moses)?
It was added because of transgressions till the seed (promise to
Abraham) should come.
The problem with the LOM was that it could not give life.
Until Jesus came “we” (the Jews) were kept under guard by the law – kept
for the faith that would afterwards be revealed.
3.
3:24-25, “Therefore
the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified
by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.”
4.
Paul, in this text
explains that the Law of Moses has been fulfilled in Christ.
v.
He makes further
arguments (3:25-4:31), but these are sufficient to show the Law of Moses
was completed in Jesus.
a.
WE have just addressed
the Old Law and noted its fulfillment. Beyond
that when we consider the word of God as a whole, we see that His plan
is HIS plan! ONLY God could
give a law that verifies itself with such magnitude.
b.
Paul told the
Corinthians that what he wrote was revealed from God.
1 Cor. 2:10-16 – the Spirit of God reveals Him to us.
c.
Ephesians 3:3-4
similarly declares that by revelation Paul was able to write down the
mystery of God for mankind.
d.
2 Peter 1:3 tells us
that through His knowledge we have “all
things that pertain to life and godliness.”
2 Tim. 3:16-17 tells us all scripture from God is profitable to make us
complete.
There will be NO MORE revelation!
e.
We began this study of
God’s plan of salvation with Romans 15:4 a passage that declares the
things of the Old Law were written for our learning to give us hope.
f.
2 Peter 1:19-21 tells
us,
“And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do
well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns
and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no
prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy
never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were
moved by the Holy Spirit.”
1 Peter 1:10–12, after speaking of our hope and salvation found by
believing in Jesus said, “Of this salvation the prophets have
inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would
come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of
Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the
sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. To them it was
revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the
things which now have been reported to you through those who have
preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things
which angels desire to look into.”
i.
Through the prophets of the Old
Testament we can be assured that the God of the Bible IS the one true
God! NEVER underestimate the
power of prophecy.
ii.
Only God can reveal 1500
years before the fact how He would redeem man through Moses, and He did
this by setting up a system that was a type (shadow) of the real thing
to come.
iii.
Only God can 1000 years
before declare to David that his throne would be established forever and
even declare the nature of that throne.
iv.
Only God can 700 years
before describe in detail the nature of the sacrifice of the Messiah
with such accuracy that critics cannot honestly deny it (Isaiah 53).
v.
Only God can some 600
years before, through Daniel describe the rise and fall of 4 empires and
give details of what each would accomplish.
vi.
These are only a FEW
examples of the power of God’s word gleaned through the Old Testament.
g.
TRULY, when we step back
and notice the whole picture we are humbled at His power.
h.
One final observation:
Note that the New Testament was written in the first century (AD) by
common men who probably did not have access to the completed Old
Testament. They didn’t have
printing presses and computes with databases to catalogue information.
They probably didn’t even have a concordance of the Old Law, yet
they frequently refer to it and quote its fulfillment in Christ and His
church. Truly that
demonstrates the hand of God.
i.
As Paul said in Romans 1:16, “For I
am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to
salvation for everyone who believe, for the Jew first and also for the
Greek.”
j.
What IS the message of
the gospel? 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 – Christ died for our sins, was buried
and then arose on the third day.
And thus we have a brief description of the plan of God.
So much more could be said.
For example: we have not addressed the church in God’s plan
(though we have addressed this in our studies in Ephesians) or what is
still to come (we have also addressed that in discussing eternity and
the judgment).
It is my hope that in
these lessons we have seen the riches to be found within the pages of
His word. God means what He
says and says what He means.
Our job is to study it (1 Tim. 2:15) and live it.
What about you? God
HAS a plan for you. Will you
accept it?