Chapter Index:

2007
April
1. A history of Salvation.
2. God in Eternity.
3. God and Creation.
4. The Creation of the Heavens.
5. The creation of the Earth.
6. The Covenant with Adam.
7. The concept of Redemption.
8. The Rebellion of Lucifer.
9. The Fall of Adam.
10. The Results of the Fall.
11. The Promise of Redemption.
12. The Origin of Demons.
13. The Tower of Babel.

May:
14. The Time of Israel.
15. The Redeemer and the Price he paid.
16. Christ as Mediator.
17. Christ our Substitute.
18. The Divine Exchange.

2011.
19. Our Present Experience of Redemption.
20. Why the Delay?
21 The Final Outworking of Redemption.
22. The New Heavens and Earth.
Conclusion.

Salvation History Conclusion.

Salvation History Conclusion.

Well I finally did it, I finished it. I apologise (sorry - apologize - these
American spellings get me every time) that the last few chapters are more brief - but I hope sufficient to outline the main points of the theme. I also apologise for the time it has taken to complete. I lost my way and wanted to include more in it, but God didn't have that plan so I got stuck until I deleted the extra material. Here is the finished version.

The great story of God and his plan for all eternity is a wonderful theme. I hope I have managed to transmit some of the wonder of it as I worked through the details.

I hope also you can see how the Bible fits together. Two great themes are at the heart of it all - Covenant and Redemption. God's desire was to have a people with whom he could live in covenant relationship. Man fell from that. The Bible is the story of how that happened and how God has acted to bring us back, to redeem us, to that relationship. Then we see how God will, in the future, actually have that sort of relationship with man.

Everything else in the Bible is but padding - important but not the main theme. If we understand the main theme we can see how the other bits fit in. If we don't understand the main theme then the Bible really doesn't make sense. Relationship - Covenant and Redemption - is what it is all about.

I hope you have enjoyed the reading of it as much as I enjoyed the writing.

I hope to publish it as a book in the future - fully revised and with full chapters at the end. I will put the name of the book up here when it is published.

Yours in Christ,
John.

SalvHist chapter 22. The New Heavens and Earth.

Salv Hist Chapter 22. The New Heavens and Earth.

Who know what it will be like. We can only guess. Can I make some suggestions:

1. God’s original intentions will be fulfilled. This means at least the following:

(i) We will live in a free will love relationship with God in a perfect state. Our communion with Him will be exactly like the communion of the Trinity – where their spirits are one.

(ii) What was only promised in the Garden of Eden in terms of eternal life will be a permanent possession.

(iii) God’s intention – that we should rule with him in his creation – will be fulfilled.

(iv) There will be a new creation.

Christ in the incarnation assumed a physical body which then dies and rose again and was transformed and went into heaven. In doing this Christ took the material nature of this universe which, because of the Fall, was hanging over nothingness, and hallowed it. He has made this physical universe permanent. But it will be remade. God’s intention for man is not that we be bodyless like the angels, but that we be beings that partake in both the physical and spiritual realms. But our new bodies will have greater powers, about which we know nothing. Except for that, Like Christ’s resurrection body, it will not be bound by time and space. Star Gate will have nothing on what we will be doing.

I suspect that in this new creation there will be new stars and worlds and inhabitants of those worlds. I think that it is those worlds we shall reign after the Millennium. We will have a hand in creating the worlds, then in ruling them. They may be in other dimensions. In other words the eternal future of man will not be limited to this world.

(v) God is a God of increase and his original intention was that man should reproduce and increase and fill the earth. I cannot believe that there will be no means of increase in the human population in the New Creation, so that we can fill the worlds we create and rule. What that means I am not sure.

SalvHist Chapter 21. The Final Outworking of Redemption

Salvation History Chapter 21. The Final Outworking of Redemption.

BACKGROUND IDEA - THE JEWISH RELIGIOUS CALENDAR.

Leviticus 23.

The Jewish religious calendar was an important regulator of Jewish Worship. This chapter lists the major Holy Days and Festivals the Israel was to Celebrate. Greater Detail for some of the Celebrations are given elsewhere, but this chapter gives the overview.

(1) Each of these Festivals had FOUR major meanings:

(a) They were a harvest festival.

(b) They were a memorial to events that happened to the nation of Israel during their exodus from Egypt.

(c) They were seen to be a prophetic message of the future deliverance that God would bring to his people through the Messiah, hence they speak of the work of Christ.

(d) Hence they have a personal application to each of us as Christians, in terms of our experience and spiritual growth. There is a spiritual experience that corresponds to each of the festivals, and as we grow in God we will experience the true meaning of the festival.

(2) There were FOUR main groups of festivals:

(i) The Sabbath (v1-3) - the weekly day of Rest.

Every Friday from 6.00p.m. to Saturday 6.00p.m.

(ii) Passover - On the 14th Day of the first month.

Three events around Passover at the beginning of the summer harvest. These were:

# The Festival of Unleavened Bread,

# Passover itself and

# The Ceremony of the First Fruits.

This whole complex of ceremonies with time became known simply as Passover or Unleavened Bread.

They were a remembrance to God's act of Deliverance through Moses (Exod 12-15).

As such it became a prophetic type of the first coming of Christ, and his death on the Cross.

(iii) Pentecost - 50 days after Passover.

At the end of the grain harvest. It came seven weeks after Passover, or 50 days, hence the name Pentecost, Pente meaning fifty. Two loaves, one of Wheat, one of Barley, were offered.

Pentecost became the Remembrance of the Giving of the Law at Sinai, in the third month after leaving Egypt (Exod 19:1).

It is a prophetic type of the Coming of the Holy Spirit on the Early Church on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2).

(iv) Secular New Year. - in the seventh month.

The last group of festivals were at the end of the harvest, just prior to the beginning of winter, and associated with the Jewish Secular New Year, being the seventh month of the Religious calendar.

Again there were three main festivals over this time: -

* The festival of Trumpets, beginning on New Year's Day proper, the first day of the seventh month, and extending to the 14th day of the month, which was the Day of Atonement.

The surrounding Nations had great celebrations on New Year's Day, in which they traditionally recrowned their kings and engaged in other significant cultic celebrations.

Israel simply had a trumpet blast, the major celebration of New Year waiting until Atonement.

The trumpet blast was a remembrance of the fact that whenever they broke camp in the wilderness they blew trumpets as the alarm (Num 10).

The journey from Sinai to Kadesh Barnea is about 10 days in length. It looks as if the 10 days between New Year and Atonement are meant to recall the walk from Sinai to the land. It seems that the Trumpet call went out, in fact, SEVEN times over these ten days, suggesting that the trip was done in stages, as we read in Numbers.

The significance of all this we shall see shortly.

* The Jews reserved their New Year celebrations for the day of Atonement (v 26-32). This was on the tenth day of the seventh month.

This was the end of the harvest, the fruit and grapes (vintage) having been collected.

We read in Numbers 13,14 how when Israel arrived at Kadesh Barnea they send spies into the land. These spies went out "at the beginning of the season of first ripe grapes, and took 40 days to carry out their task. If Israel had entered the land the next day, as God intended, than they would have entered the land on the day of Atonement, but they did not and the type was broken.

As with all of the surrounding nations, this New Year celebration was the major annual Religious convocation. The day was spent in cultic ceremonies and dramas, re-enacting creation, the reaffirmation of God as Israel's king (through a re-crowning ceremony of the king), the ritual of atonement (Lev 16) and also a dramatic presentation looking forward to the coming of God as King in his Messiah.

Isa 40-66 and Pss 90-105 are built around this drama, the Psalms being the songs used on the day.

* Following this a week after Atonement was a seven-day festival, on the 15th - 22nd of the seventh month. the Feast of Tabernacles, or Booths, or Shelters (v33-36). It was a major celebration for the completed harvest of grain, fruit, and wine.

This festival was to remind Israel how they lived in Tabernacles, i.e. Tents, during their wilderness wanderings. If they had entered the Land when God intended then this festival would have been a symbol of the blessing of the promised land.

Immediately after Tabernacles the first rains of the winter fell – the early rains, or autumn rains.

It is these last three festivals that interest us here in the context of the fulfillment of Redemption.

As you can see they were intended by God to be a remembrance to historic events, but Israel's rebellion meant that the pattern was broken. Israel saw this also and saw that the land was not all it was intended to be - so the festivals came to have a greater meaning - pointing forward to the Blessed age coming at the Revelation of the Messiah. The seven months of the summer harvest speak of the Church age in a symbolic prophecy.

The Church inherited these prophecies from Israel, but the Christ Event radically transformed their meaning. The Church saw that the first three groups of festivals had already been fulfilled in Christ. The last group speak of his second coming.

The seven blasts of the trumpets over the ten days period are clearly intended to speak of the seven trumpets of Revelation (Rev 8:2) which blow over a ten "day" period. The last blows on the Day of Atonement.

The Day of Atonement:- also known as the day of Redemption, is clearly a prophecy of the second Coming (Eph 4:30). The Day of Atonement was also known by the Jews as “the Day of the Lord.” In the NT the “day of the Lord” is the time when Christ returns in power and glory to set up his kingdom on earth.

Tabernacles - speaks of the blessedness of the Millenium.

THE FINAL OUTWORKING OF REDEMPTION.

The Book of Revelation is where we see the details of how Redemption is consummated. Redemption is the key to understanding Revelation.

Ch 5 - Christ is portrayed as the one who is the Redeemer. Here we see him taking the title deed of Earth from God, the judge of the Earth, and the process of Redemption enters a new stage. We are told he has the (legal) right to take the scroll and open it, because he alone could pay the price. The price was the death of a sinless man. We are told that he has “redeemed men and made them kings and priests.”

From here on in Christ is seen as the executor of redemption.

Ch 6-8 - The Seven Seals. The scroll is opened. It is sealed with seven seals. Apparently it is a seven paged scroll, each page sealed with a seal. Each page can be opened separately. As each seal is opened we can read part of the document. As each page is opened we see the price of sale - death to mankind.

Finally the seventh seal ushers in the day of the Lord, the Day of Redemption.

Ch 8-11 - The Seven Trumpets.

We go back in time again and see the price of Redemption - death at every hand.

Again the seventh Trumpet, which clearly is the same event as the seventh seal, ushers in the day of the Lord.

Rev 10:1-4.

The angel is probably acting on behalf of Christ. He is holding the scroll – the same scroll as ch 5, 6. He puts his feet on the land and the sea – an OT symbolism speaking of taking ownership. This angel is making the claim of the Redeemer – kinsman. The price has been paid, the scroll has been opened and now the inheritance can be claimed. It won’t be long now and it will be handed back to the rightful owners.

THE DAY OF REDEMPTION.

Lev 25:9,10.

(1) Old Testament Practice.

The day of Redemption was the day of Atonement, the day Israel celebrated the New Year, the 10th day of the seventh month. It spoke of new beginnings so was laden with symbolic meaning. As it was just prior to the planting of seed it was a good time to allow the redemption of land.

In the religious calendar, Atonement falls in the seventh month, at the end of the festive summer harvest season, and so it speaks of the end of the harvest. This lead it to be seen as a prophecy of the end of time, i.e. the day of the Lord.

(2) New Testament Application.

In the NT we find the day of Redemption identified with the Day of the Lord, when Christ appears in power and glory to establish his kingdom.

This indicates that the events of the Day of Atonement / Redemption are a prophetic type of the events of the Day of the Lord.

There are four aspects important to us.

(1) Restoration of Man's Freedom.

2 Cor 5:1-5.

Rom 8:23.

Because of sin our bodies are in bondage to a power of DEATH. This is a personal power, a demon, which is responsible for sickness, degeneration and death.

Redemption will result in the full liberation of men from DEATH.

1 Cor 15:48-57.

"we shall be changed" - this is the event commonly called the Rapture, or Resurrection of the Saints.

(a) It results in us getting a new body. 1 Cor 15:42-44.

It will be like Christ's resurrection body - not bound by time and space.

In fact glorification is MORE than a simple restoration of man's sinlessness. Adam was bound by time and space, our resurrection bodies are not.

It is incorruptible, powerful, glorious, immortal.

When this (the rapture) happens "death is overcome" (v54, 55).

When does this happen?

1 Cor 15:22-26.

At the "END". The last enemy to be destroyed is DEATH - after Antichrist, the False Prophet, etc.

It happens "at the last Trumpet" (v52).

To be the last trumpet it implies

(i) There must be some others before it, and the Christians Paul is writing to know something about them.

(ii) There are no more trumpets after it.

In Revelation we find SEVEN trumpets, the last of which, we are told, causes time to "cease.” Rev 10:6 Literally – “there shall be no more time.” Wherever the phrase “no more” is used in Revelation it always means “no more in quantity. The 7^th trumpet is the end of this earthly age.

The Day of Atonement was the 10th day of the 7th month.

10 = completion.

7 = completion.

I.e. a double completion, two witnesses establishing its truth, and the subject is time.

The seventh trumpet finishes time as we know it.

There can therefore be no trumpets after this one, it must be the "last trump" of 1 Cor 15.

The Seventh Trumpet is blown on the day of the Lord, at the End of the Tribulation, which means the rapture and resurrection of the Saints occurs then also.

(b )We can have a foretaste of the Redemption of the Body now:

(i) In Healing.

(ii) Rom 8:11 - "life in our mortal bodies" c/f Isa 40:31 - "a change in strength" - e.g. Moses and Caleb.

(2) Restoration of Man's Inheritance.

Rom 8:19-23.

The earth is in bondage and is waiting for the release of mankind, so that it too can be set free. Presumably the groaning is that of the elemental spirits who were subjected to Satan because of man’s sin and not of their own will.

Paul tells us that they will be set free, along with the earth – but this happens when we “receive adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies (8:23).” Paul specifically says here that we receive our resurrection bodies at the same time as the earth is redeemed.

Our eternal destiny is earth related, not heavenly. God's eternal purpose is to have a people who are reigning on Earth.

Rev 5:10, 20:6 – on earth, not in heaven.

Our kingship is to be restored - Christ our kinsman did not redeem earth for himself, but for his brethren.

Rev 11:15-19 - at the seventh trumpet the kingdom of this world becomes Christ’s – but he is acting as Kinsman redeemer – he claims the kingdom for us.

(3) Restoration of Relationship With God.

On the day of Atonement the High Priest, as Head of the people, entered into the Holy of Holies where God's presence dwelt.

Heb 9:1-7.

This Christ has already done, having gone as a forerunner for us.

Heb 9:11, 12.

However we are to join him there.

Rev 11:19 - God's temple is opened, the way is clear for us to go in.

Rev 15.

v2 - The Saints stand beside the sea - they have passed through into God's presence.

v5 - God's temple is opened.

v6 - Angels of Wrath come out.

v8 - No one can enter until the wrath is over, but the Saints are already in!.

Rev 7:9-17

v15 - "in his temple".

(4) A Day of Wrath.

The day of Atonement was when Israel repented before God and God judged their sin.

The day of the Lord is also a day of judgment.

(i) For the saints.

Rev 11:18 - rewards.

1 Cor 3:10-15.

2 Cor 5:9,10.

(ii) On the masses of unrepentant mankind it is a day of WRATH.

Rev 6:12-17.

Ezekiel 38:18 "on that day my wrath will be aroused" = the day Russia and her allies invade Palestine.

Zephaniah - tells us what it will be like.

1 Thess 5:9 - the saints are "not destined to wrath" - we are already in God's presence before the angels of wrath leave to dispense God's wrath.

The clear implication of the teaching of redemption and the day of the Lord as the day of redemption is that both mankind (the saints) and the earth itself are redeemed at the same time. There is no secret rapture for the church seven years prior to the day of the Lord.

SalvHist chapter 20. Why the Delay?

Salvation History Chapter 20. Why the Delay?

If the price of redemption has been paid and the Redeemer has claimed the inheritance legally, why does Satan and Death still reign?

Why, if Christ has redeemed, is the world still full of sin, violence, evil and pain? Where is this redemption he has wrought?

Why do we not see it as a reality?

If this redemption is real, then where is it? On the surface of it nothing has changed. Men are just as evil, demons and fallen angels continue to oppose God’s work, evil and suffering are still with us. If Christ has really made a difference to the very structure of reality then why don’t we see and experience it?

These are real questions, and any non-Christian who understands the message about Christ is likely to ask them eventually. It doesn’t do for Christians to ignore the questions when there is a perfectly simple answer.

We cannot afford to ignore such questions – and if we understand what has been taught in the previous studies, then the reason why will be easy for you to understand.

So first we need to recap a few key ideas. Written into the fabric of the universe are two “laws” which we need to understand - the Law of Covenant and the Law of Redemption.

(1) Covenant.

The relationship of God with man is primarily defined in the Bible by the concept of “covenant”. God created man and entered into covenant relationship with him. This covenant included the fact that man was appointed king of the earth. Earth was to be man’s possession and man was to be king over it. This was the original covenant of the Bible.

Mankind, in their corporate head, Adam, broke the covenant and as a result certain “curses” came into operation in man’s experience. Man lost rulership over the earth, he “sold” it by disobedience to Satan, who became “prince of this world.” Man and his inheritance entered into slavery to Satan.

But God still relates to man on the basis of covenant and still considers the world to be “man’s.” Hence, in general, he does not intervene on the earth unless men ask him to do so. For God to intervene without being asked would be to violate Man’s free will and Man’s God given delegated authority. That God will never do.

The point of covenant law is that those under the covenant are bound by the decisions and actions of their covenant head. Thus all of mankind, descended from Adam, are bound by the decisions and actions Adam made. Thus the earth and mankind are in slavery to Satan because of Adam’s actions.

(2) The Law of Redemption.

God has also written another law into the universe, the law of Redemption. When something is sold, land or people, it becomes subject to the law of redemption and can be bought back. There were three ways this could be done.

The only practical way of working redemption was for someone else to pay the price of redemption for man. Yet that “someone else” had to be a man. But all men are descended from Adam and so already in slavery and could not pay the price of redemption. Thus God – in Christ - became man, so he could pay the price of redemption for us and so reverse the sale to Satan, thus setting earth and man free from Satanic domination.

And this brings us back to the dilemma we are facing in this study: If Christ has done this, then why are things still just as bad?

A fair enough question, I would think.

On the surface of it, it looks like Christianity is just a myth, a religious story – nice, but fiction.

Unless we are missing something. It is this “missing something” I want to explain now.

WHY THE DELAY?

Christ, the Redeemer, has paid the price of redemption. Legally mankind, and his inheritance, have been ransomed from bondage.

Normally, in a redemption situation, the person being redeemed does not have to wait to return to his inheritance. Why is there a delay in this case? Why haven't we experienced what was promised, what is rightfully ours?

The answer is in the nature of covenants. Adam, the corporate head of mankind, sold the earth and his freedom to Satan through disobedience. All of his descendants, the “corporate body” of Adam, were therefore bound by the decision of their corporate head. We were "in Adam" and took part in the decision he made. The “curse” came on us all.

The Apostle Paul describes how this happened in Rom 5:12-19.

The Apostle here is using covenant language. He is using the language of the “corporate Body.” The leader, the “head” of the body does certain things and the “body” is thus committed to the decision of the “head.” In primitive society, and in much of the Third World today, the concept Paul is using here is abundantly clear. In our individualistic society in the West it is more difficult for us to understand, but we still have traces of this approach in these things: “majority decision rules,” or when the leader of our country, or club, or whatever, makes a decision and we are all thereby committed to go along with it.

As far as God is concerned earth is man's inheritance, so it is man's responsibility. That is how God set it up. The fact that it has been “sold” to Satan” does not change that in the eyes of God. Adam, the Head, sold the earth and himself into slavery. The corporate Adam is now responsible for what happens to earth and for retrieving their freedom.

Here we need to remind ourselves of another key idea: Free will.

Christ has redeemed the earth, as a near kinsman, but the corporate Adam needs to accept that ransom on their behalf. God will not override Adam's free will. Legally Christ could come at any moment, but morally he will not because the inheritance is not his own, he did not buy it for himself he only bought it as a near kinsman on behalf of another. The Other has to receive the redemption provided. Adam lost the inheritance. Adam needs to accept responsibility for that, and accept the Redeemer.

This is where we find the meaning of the present age. This is the reason for the delay:

Adam is responsible, so Adam must decide. But:

“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in?

And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how

can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" (Romans 10:14,15)

If the Corporate Adam is to decide on the future of earth, on the Redemption that Christ has worked for them, then the Corporate Adam must get to hear about this redemption.

The Gospel is God's message of good news that Christ has Redeemed, and that we can receive our inheritance back as men. But we need to make a personal response to the message. The Corporate Adam must hear and decide one way or the other - accept Christ or reject him.

The corporate Adam must decide. This means that EVERY member of Adam must have the opportunity to hear and respond. This takes time, and the Gospel Age is the time God has allocated for that. God has given us the responsibility to preach this good news.

This is the Logic of Evangelism.

Thus the Purpose of this Age is Mission. God has appointed the Church to go and tell the good news about Christ’s redemption to all mankind

A Prophecy:

The precondition of Redemption and Covenant on the Second Coming is clear - every RESPONSIBLE person alive on earth at the time of Christ's return must have heard the good news and made some definitive decision.

All must hear: Matthew 24:14.

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

Christ will not return until the church has completed the task.

As a result of this preaching there will be only two groups of people alive on earth at the end who see his coming:

(i) Those who have heard and ACCEPTED the message.

(ii) Those who have heard and REJECTED the message.

The key factor is ALL WILL HAVE HEARD!

This division is clear in the book of Revelation.

(i) Those who are Christ's - have his seal/name. Revelation 14:1.

These are identified by many symbols in Revelation, including the phrase "those who dwell in Heaven", a phrase which does not refer to physical location but to LEGAL CITIZENSHIP.

(ii) Those who are Satan's – have his seal/666. Revelation 13:16-18.

There is no third group - who haven't heard, and this is why all men either rejoice at his coming, or mourn.

Revelation 1:7, 6:15-16.

All the tribes of the earth will mourn, because they have all heard and know what is happening. They all know what is going on. The rejection of Christ in the last days will be intelligent and deliberate.

So this is the reason for the delay:

(1) Jesus has paid the price of Redemption, but he did that for us, for humankind.

(2) The Law of Redemption requires that the beneficiary of redemption agree to the Redeemer paying the price in order for the benefits to flow to him.

(3) Thus the Corporate Adam must decide whether or not to accept Christ’s redemption for us.

(4) In order for this to be possible all mankind must hear of the offer of redemption. There must come a point in time when all human beings that are alive on earth, who make up the corporate Adam have heard the gospel and have decided wither for or against it.

(5) When that happens the Redeemer, Christ, is legally able to come and claim the inheritance and give it back to those who have received his redemption.

Until every man, woman and child alive on earth at a point in time has heard the gospel Christ CANNOT return. The Second coming depends on this precondition brought about by the law of Redemption. For this reason Jesus is not coming tonight – or any time soon.

The Age in Between. The Overlap of the Ages.

The resurrection of Christ ushered in a new age. By virtue of his resurrection he became the Second Man, the start of the new creation.

The Jews looked forward to an “age to come”, when the Messiah would rule and evil would be abolished. What they did not see was that there would be a period of time in which the future age would be present but “unseen”.

The reality is that the age to come is crashing in on us, and has been since the resurrection of Christ. But it exists alongside this present age, until such time as God consummated his plans.

The period between the Cross and the Second Coming is thus the period of the overlap of the ages. The kingdom of God has come, but it is only seen by the eyes of faith. To the natural man all that can be seen in this present evil age.

Through the resurrection of Christ and the gift of the Spirit we partake of the powers of the age to come. Hebrews 6:4-7.

The new creation is already present and we who are “in Christ” have been made part of it by regeneration. The resurrection life of Christ has been given to us; we have the divine seed.

This means that there is a struggle – there is a tension between the present evil age and the age of righteousness that is crashing down on top of it. The powers of this age resist the coming kingdom and seek to prevent it arriving.

Jesus became the second man when he rose from the dead. He is the first of a new race - the head of the body, the beginning of the new creation.

Everyone who is born again into a living hope to by the resurrection of Christ from the dead is born again into that new race--the second man race, the race that is going to achieve the purposes of God that were not achieved by the first Adamic race.

Jesus had to be the last Adam to settle all the IOU s that had piled up against the Adamic race before he could rise from the dead and be the head of the body - the new creation, the second man. In him the New Creation has begun to emerge.

Now/Not yet.

Because of this conflict we live in a state of suspension. We have the promises of God, but we do not see them fully in our experience. The age to come is now, but it is also “not yet.” It is here only in part, one day it will be fully realised. Until then we live in hope.

And, one may add, we live in frustration. But it is better to have a hope that is frustrated, than to live without hope at all. Faith tells us that one day our frustration will be removed.

PREACHING THE GOSPEL.

We are commissioned to Preach the Gospel.

Matt 28:19,20.

2 Cor 1:21, 22 “anointed” or “commissioned.”

2 Cor 5:20. Ambassadors.

Acts 1:8 Witnesses.

To enable us to do this we have been given the Holy Spirit:

Acts 1:8. 2 Cor 1:21, 22.

He gives us gifts and abilities. These are primarily gifts to help us in the mission to those who have not heard. When we use them in that context God releases them in and through us more readily than at other times.

Mark 16:15, 16. These gifts meet the needs of mankind.

The Gospel is God’s answer to man’s need. But what is the need? In communicating the gospel we have to have wisdom. It is not enough to just get up and quote the Bible. To communicate we have to begin our presentation at a point of FELT NEED. We have to know what the hearer is struggling with and then relate to Gospel to that FELT NEED.

This is what the Bible does. The Gospel is presented to us in many pictures, or metaphors. Each of these pictures speak to a different FELT NEED of mankind.

Redemption: to the feeling of being in bondage.

Reconciliation: To the feeling of being isolated and alone.

Justification: To the sense of being wrong.

Victory: To the sense of being overwhelmed by forces beyond our control.

And so on.

We need to choose our metaphor to suit the audience we are preaching to.

THE GREAT COMMISSION.

Matt 28:19, 20 is the command.

(i) Go into all the world.

(ii) Make disciples – not converts. A disciple is someone who does want his master does. What did Jesus do? He healed the sick and cast out demons. Make sure you are modelling the Master in your going – and make sure those you reach learn to do the same.

(iii) Baptising them – water baptism of converts by immersion.

Jesus sent out two groups to witness for him during his earthly ministry. The numbers are significant and symbolic.

Luke 9:1ff .The 12. Sent only to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel – commanded not to go to the Gentiles. The number 12 reminds us of the 12 tribes of Israel and tell us this was a mission to Israel.

Luke 10:1ff. The 70/72. It is not said they were restricted to Israel. The number 70/72 is the number of Gentile nations in the world by Jewish reckoning. This then symbolises Jesus sending out people for the Gentile mission. It has direct relevance to us. The commands and instructions he gives them thus apply to us. These are “The How to of the Great Commission.”

1. Go two by two.

2. Live like the people you are trying to reach – in their houses.

3. Don’t go with a whole lot of stuff so that you are “comfortable.”

4. Preach the kingdom.

5. Heal the sick

6. Cast out demons.

7. If you are not welcome anywhere, then move on.

This is Jesus’ list of instructions to you. Try not to do anything else.

Salvation History Chapter 19.Our Present Experience of Redemption.

Salvation History Chapter 19. Our Present Experience of Redemption.

Colossians 1:12-14.

These verses tell us four things about Redemption:

(1) The Origin of Redemption. "The Father...who delivered us"

Redemption is God's answer to man's need. God, seeing our need and our inability to help ourselves, out of his great love and mercy worked Redemption.

(2) The Person of Redemption. "his beloved Son, in whom we have Redemption."

You can't have Redemption without a Redeemer. God has not given us Redemption, but a Redeemer - a Person.

Redemption is not in the Sacrifice, nor in the blood, but is in a person - embrace the person and you embrace Redemption and the way it was obtained.

Redemption is therefore a RELATIONSHIP, not a thing that happens to you.

(3) The Process of Redemption. "The forgiveness of sins".

Redemption is the restoration of a lost inheritance, a making up of that from which we have "fallen short". Hence we need to be forgiven for our shortcomings. However forgiveness is not our inheritance in God, rather our inheritance is God himself, including his plan for us. Forgiveness is simply the process, or way, to our inheritance.

(4) The Result of Our Redemption. "to share in the inheritance... the kingdom of his beloved Son."

This tells us that, as far as we are concerned now, there are phases to our experience of Redemption:

(i) Deliverance from bondage.

(ii) Restoration of Relationship, and all that entails.

(iii) There is a present aspect of redemption (“forgiveness”) and a future aspect of redemption (“the inheritance”).

There is always the idea of being saved FROM something, TO something else. Salvation is not so much an event as it is a process.

REDEMPTION IS DELIVERANCE / SALVATION.

In our experience Redemption becomes synonymous with SALVATION.

Note: - We Christians are very lazy thinkers and readers, and we tend to identify several Bible words as being the same thing, i.e. saved, justified, born again, redeemed, and other related words which describe aspects of the conversion experience. However these words do not mean the same thing. They are all related and describe different aspects of the whole Christian conversion experience, but all are slightly different. By identifying them we miss out on the richness of the Bible's teaching, and on the shades of meaning God intended us to see.

Redemption involves the whole restoration of the heavens and the earth to God's plan. Salvation is the part of that plan of Redemption, which directly relates to delivering man from sin and bringing man back into God’s plan. Redemption goes beyond man’s experience.

Salvation - Definition.

Hebrew root = "to be broad", i.e. salvation is an expansion, an enlargement.

Greek = soteria = deliverance, preservation, salvation.

In the NT it is used to describe:

(a) Material and temporal deliverance from danger, national or personal.

(b) Spiritual and eternal deliverance.

(c) The experience of God's power in overcoming sin.

(d) The future deliverance of God's people at the Parousia (Second Coming).

(e) To sum up all the blessings given in Christ, including healing, financial prosperity, demonic deliverance, forgiveness, success, etc.

I.e. salvation is a much broader term than we normally use it for.

The basic idea in Scripture is twofold:

(i) Salvation is the whole process by which man is delivered from all which would prevent him attaining the highest Good God has prepared for him.

(ii) The enjoyment of that good.

The basic idea is deliverance from a bad situation so that we can enjoy good.

Personal Salvation.

(a) Is Progressive.

It comes in three phases:

(i) Past - Justification.

(ii) Present - Sanctification.

(iii) Future - Glorification.

(b) However once we have begun in the process the whole process is guaranteed.

Ephesians 2:1-7.

v1 - Made alive = justified.

v2 - raised us = Justified.

v6 - enthroned us = glorified.

Romans 8:29,30.

Five things God did for us:

(i) Foreknew.

(ii) Predestined.

(iii) Called.

(iv) Justified.

(v) Glorified.

Notice that all of these are in the past tense - this means that once you are in the process the end result is guaranteed.

THE THREE STAGES OF SALVATION.

(1) Past Salvation: - Justification.

Justification is the LEGAL pronouncement of acquittal, i.e. Not Guilty, by God. As a result we inherit a new legal standing in the courtroom of Heaven. Implied in this is the dealing with the guilt of sin through forgiveness. Justification is effected through Christ paying the Redemption penalty for us by his death.

Colossians 1:12-14.

Ephesians 1:7.

Colossians 2:13, 14.

This is picture language. It is drawn from Roman legal practice concerning financial borrowing.

On borrowing money two copies of an agreement were drawn up. The creditor kept one copy; the other was torn, or broken, in two. Half, showing the amount owed and the terms, was given to the creditor, who filed it, the other half was given to the debtor who took it home and nailed it to his front door - everyone knew the debtor was in debt but not the details.

On repayment of the debt the debtor took his half, with the money, to the creditor and it was matched with the other half. On payment of the debt the debtor could destroy all the copies of the document.

If the debtor could not repay it, he could get a relative to do so. In this case the relative took to torn half, to pay the debt, then the second copy was nailed up in the City Square, so all could read the details. Everyone knew - he was out of debt, but his relatives had to bail him out. He's a bad risk.

Paul tells us that Christ had to bail us out, but in our case he "blotted out the bond and its legal demands against us... nailing it to the cross." Everyone can see - we were bailed out, but they can't read the writing - the details of our sins, only the word "Forgiven", and Christ's signature appear with our name on the deed. It is blotted out - when God deals with sin he eradicates it eternally, it is never remembered again. God has the capacity to totally and immediately forget.

Because our sins are blotted out there is no charge against us.

HEAVEN HAS NO RECORD OF FORGIVEN SIN.

Hell has good records, but the Devil is a chronic liar and nothing he says can ever be true.

We can remember – it is good for us to remember - it stops us doing the same stupid thing again.

Psalms 103:10-12.

Psalms 32:1-5.

Romans 8:1.

Therefore we are justified by God, he sees us a Righteous.

Initially then, we experience salvation as forgiveness of sins and peace with God.

Alongside of this we begin to enter into the inheritance we have in God.

What is our inheritance?

There are many elements, but in summary it is God himself.

It is "his name, and his Father's name" Rev 3:12. This means his character, power and authority - everything he has and is becomes ours'.

The name is called a "SEAL". Rev 9:4.

The Seal of God is the Holy Spirit. Eph 1:13,14.

The Holy Spirit is the "guarantee", or down payment on our inheritance, which we will inherit in Eternity. The Seal is a mark of protection, and a guarantee that the whole inheritance will come to us. The inheritance is God himself, the down payment is God himself in the person of the Holy Spirit.

The eldest son received a double portion of the inheritance. Christ is the eldest son, and we are "in him." We receive this double portion. One portion comes now, the Holy Spirit; the other in Heaven, God Himself.

The Holy Spirit is given to us to work in our lives to guarantee that we will attain the whole inheritance. Eph 4:30.

(2) Present Salvation: - Sanctification.

Salvation means deliverance. To be saved is to be delivered from the evil powers of sin, the Devil, demons, the law, sickness, etc. This is obviously an experiential thing. Salvation tells me I have come from a place of bondage and am now in a place of freedom. Justification tells me simply where I now stand before God legally, Salvation defines my Experience.

It is possible to be justified AND KNOW IT, yet still be in bondage to sin, etc, i.e. not to be saved in any subjective experiential way.

The personal experience of salvation is a process, beginning with forgiveness and justification, but the process is not fully complete until the Second Coming. However our experience of salvation should be continuously growing. As we saw before - the end result is guaranteed, but how much of it we enjoy in this life depends on our personal response and obedience. It is sometimes called transformation.

Rom 12:1-3.

2 Cor 3:18.

Philippians 2:12

2 Thessalonians 2:13.

(3) Future Salvation: - Glorification.

See chapter 21.

1 Cor 15:50-57.

REDEMPTION IS RESTORATION.

(1) Past Restoration.

(a) Righteousness is Given.

Justification is not just a pronouncement of Acquittal, or not guilty, but it has a dynamic positive nature.

WE ARE DECLARED RIGHTEOUS.

Romans 5:18,19.

v18 - we are acquitted.

v19 - we are made righteous.

This means we are given a new nature and a positive new position before God. The righteousness of Christ becomes ours.

(b) New Life.

The end result of this is that the curse of death no longer has any hold over us, so God gives us new life, we are born again.

Rom 5:18. "acquittal AND LIFE for all men".

(c) Position.

We are made kings and priests. To reign as a king we must learn to serve as priests. Priests have one main function - to offer sacrifices. All of our sacrifices can be summed up in one word - prayer.

1 Peter 2:5.

(2) Present Restoration.

(a) Restoration of the Divine Nature in Us.

God wants us to radiate the image of God. This is part of the function of Priesthood. The nature of man, corrupted by the fall, is under reconstruction in our lives as we obey God.

Christianity should make people totally whole. We should be clearly seen as the answer to society's problems of alienation, loneliness, mental illness etc.

We need to make society and individuals in it whole. The key is love.

John 10:10, 8:32.

It is God's intention in redemption to restore our freedom. Only a Christian has the potential to be free and truly human.

(b) Restoration of Man's Dominion.

We are to rule the natural order - to wrest it out of Satan's control.

To learn how to do this we have to establish dominion over Satan in our own lives.

Romans 5:21.

Because we are already righteous we can reign in life. Reigning in life does not produce righteousness; rather righteousness produces reigning in life. Righteousness is a mighty power of God at work in our lives to give us victory.

Included in the concept of dominion are ideas of responsibility to correctly administer our inheritance. Christians should therefore be at the forefront of ecology and conservation issues.

(c) Manifesting God’s life and Kingdom.

Live a kingdom life.

Preach a Kingdom gospel.

Manifest a kingdom power.