28 March 2017

God's Plan about Man's Creation and Salvation


              

Man's Creation and Free Will

              

In the beginning, God and his Divine Son created man and woman in their image and after their likeness—pure without any sin, surrounded by divine and immortal glory, and with free will. They created them so that they could live in love and in harmony, and have an intimate and personal relationship with their Creators, as long they would obey, and not fall into the temptation and deception of the evil one, the leader of the rebellious angels who had rebelled against God once. (Genesis 1:26-30; 2:7-25; Proverbs 8:22-31; Colossians 1:15-17)


But one day, man and woman separated themselves from their Creators, by letting themselves be deceived and believe the lies of the fallen angel, disobeying and following their own path. And sin entered in their hearts, and they were cursed and became mortal, and lost the privilege to have fellowship with God and with his Son. And because of that, we all then inherited a sinful nature with sickness, oppression and death. We also lost the privilege of being sons and daughters of God, separating ourselves completely from the glory and presence and power of the Creator, making us worthy of eternal punishment on the Day of Judgement of our deeds. (Genesis chapter 3; Romans 3:5-18; 5:12; 6:23; Matthew 25:31-46; Revelation 20:11-15)


From that moment, God decided to communicate with humankind through some chosen faithful men who were transmitting his message of repentance and of righteousness. In fact, He gave Ten Commandments, which were the moral Law for all those who would like to achieve God’s forgiveness and righteousness. (Romans 3:19-20; Galatians 3:6-12, 19-23)


The grace and mercy of God in giving us his Divine Son


Due to the inherent sinful nature, man was unable to obey God's moral Law in his own strength and efforts. In fact, the power of sin in man drives him to do things he does not want to do, such as: lying, being selfish, getting angry, being resentful, having vices, being immoral, stealing, etc. So God's people were usually cleansed of their sins with the blood of animals every year by the high priest, since according to the Law everything had to be cleansed with blood, and without bloodshed there was no remission of sins. (Hebrews 9:6-7, 19-22)  


Because of this power of sin that we have inherited from the first man, and because God had created us without any sin, our own good deeds cannot save us from eternal punishment. In fact, the consequence for any sin we do is death and eternal damnation. And because everyone is under a curse because of the transgression of the first man, no one is a child of God at birth, and that is why God and His Son cannot help us or speak to us as they would like. (Romans 3:23; 6:23)


But about 2,000 years ago, God the Father in His goodness and mercy sent Jesus—His Divine Son—into the world as a perfect, sinless human being born of a woman. (John 1:14; Romans 8:3; Galatians 4:4-5; Hebrews 2:14-18)


Jesus was the shining Light of His Father’s Glory who came into this world to speak the Truth and deliver us from every kind of sickness and oppression—through healings, deliverances, and miraculous signs. But even more, He came to give His life for us to save us from the power of sin and the eternal damnation we have all inherited and deserve—by offering Himself as a living, atoning sacrifice on the cross. (John 1:4-18; 3:16-21; 8:12; 15:12-17; 2Corinthians 4:6; Hebrews chapter 1)


At thirty years of age, Jesus was baptized in water by the prophet John the Baptist to bury his good reputation as a man and reveal his identity as the Son of God, Messiah, and Savior. It was there that He was anointed with the power of the Spirit of God his Father to be able to announce the Good News of the Kingdom and the New Birth, heal the sick and free the oppressed, and perform all kinds of miracles. (Matthew 3:13-17; John 3:1-21; Acts 10:36-38; 1John 5:6-12)


After three years of ministry on Earth and just as God the Father had planned, Jesus gave Himself over to the power of the evil one for us, and was falsely accused and unjustly blamed by the religious wicked of his time, and condemned to death. He was then brutally tortured and nailed to a cross to shed His blood and die as a criminal and miserable sinner. (Isaiah chapter 53; Acts 10:39; Romans 5:6-7)


By the will of his Father, Jesus gave his life for our sins to rescue us from this evil world in which we live (Galatians 1:3-4). He paid the death penalty so that our past sins could be forgiven, so that we could be freed from the bondage of sin and condemnation on the Day of Judgment, and so that we could be made righteous before God eternally (Romans 3:21-26 ; 1Peter 2:24). 


Freedom and Salvation through Jesus, the Lamb of God 


According to God's Law, the penalty for sinning is death, but the free gift of God the Father is eternal life through the sacrifice and death of Jesus his Son. Jesus is the perfect Lamb of God, and his blood shed for us can now cleanse our sins and remove our sinful nature. (John 1:29; Romans 3:21-31; 5:8-21; chapter 6; 1Corinthians 15:3-4; 2Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13-18, 24-29; 4:1-7; Colossians 1:12-14; Hebrews 9:11-15, 23-28; 10:1-22; Revelation 1:5-6)


Jesus remained faithful and obedient to his Divine Father until the end. And because of that He raised him from the dead on the third day, and exalted him and placed him in the place of honor at his right hand. (Acts 2:32-35; Philippians 2:5-11)


Jesus has now the power to free us from sin and eternal punishment, not through obedience to God's Law, but through faith in his sacrifice (Gálatas 2:15-21). And through his redemption, He and his Father can freely come and enter and dwell in us through his own Holy Spirit, which is the divine glory and holy presence and miraculous power that He inherited from the Father. And with his Holy Spirit in us, then we are able to love and serve God and Jesus, and love everyone else around (2Corinthians 3:16-18). (Mathew 22:36-40; John 3:16-17; 4:23-24; 14:15-23; Acts 2:32-36; 10:40-43; 13:38-39; Romans 5:6-21; 2Corinthians 5:14-21; Ephesians 2:1-10; Titus 3:3-7)


Jesus resurrected and defeated death and the power of the evil one, and conquered all the principalities and powers of darkness. And now He lives with God his Father forever, and wants to free us from the power of darkness and give us the right to be made adopted children and heirs of God the Father. (John 1:12-13; 3:1-21; Romans 3:24-26; 6:23; 8:14-18; Galatians 4:4-7; Ephesians 1:3-14; Colossians 2:8-15; Hebrews 2:14-18; 13:20-21)


Jesus is the Mediator and High Priest of God the Father


Jesus—who is the Divine Man—is the only Mediator between God the Father—who is the Divine Spirit—and us humans. (John 4:23-24; 1 Timothy 2:1-6)


The Divine Son did not come to help the angels, but He came to help us humans who have believed. Therefore, it was necessary for Him to become human in every way like us, His brothers, so that He would be our faithful and merciful High Priest before God the Father. Then He could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. Because He himself has gone through sufferings and trials as a human, sacrificing himself, He can now help us when we go through trials and difficulties. (John 1:14; Hebrews 2:14-18)


Jesus fully understands our weaknesses and intercedes for us when we go to God the Father in prayer, because He faced each and every trial that we face, yet He never sinned.  (Hebrews 4:14-16)


There were many priests—who sacrificed animals for the forgiveness of their sins and the sins of the people—under the old system, because death prevented them from continuing their functions. But since Jesus the Messiah lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever. That is why He is able to save—once for all—those who come to God the Father through him. He lives forever to intercede before God on our behalf. (John 14:6; Romans 8:31-39; Hebrews 7:15-28)


Jesus has now become the Mediator and High Priest over all good things that have come. He entered that higher and more perfect tabernacle in Heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of the created world. By his own blood—not the blood of animals—he entered the heavenly Most Holy Place once for all, securing our eternal redemption. (Hebrews 9:11-28)


The Way of Redemption and Reconciliation to God 


Jesus said that we must be born of water and the Spirit of God in order to be freed from the power of sin and our sinful nature, and thus be reconciled to God the Father—the sovereign, eternal, invisible God—and adopted as His children. (John 1:12-13; 3:1-21)


These are the steps according to the Gospel that we must take to be freed from the power of the slavery of sin and have the privilege of being made adopted children of God the Father, so that we can carry out the work of his Son Jesus the Messiah:


   1) Believe that God the Father sent Jesus his Son to redeem us from the power of slavery to sin—through his death, burial, and resurrection—so that we can be reconciled to God himself.

   2) Repent of all sinful life, confess every sin, and surrender completely to God the Father and his will, to be able to receive a heart of flesha tender heart.

   3) Be fully baptized in water—which represents the blood Jesus shed—for the washing away of sins and the burial of the body of the sinful nature, and the birth of the new creation in order to live a new life dedicated to following Jesus the Messiah.

   4) Receive the divine gift of the Holy Spirit so that we can have a personal relationship with God the Father and with his Son Jesus—reading and meditating on the Holy Scriptures, and praying and worshiping in the Holy Spirit. And also so that we can share with others the Good News about Jesus the Messiah—the only Way to be reconciled to God the Father—and heal the sick at every opportunity. (Matthew 22:29; John 4:19-42; 6:26-29; 14:6; 19:33-34; Acts 2:36-39; 5:30-32; 10:36; 16:13-15; 18:7-8; 19:1-7; Romans 5:6-11; 6:1-11; 1Corinthians 15:3-4; 2Corinthians 5:14-21; Galatians 3:26-27; Colossians 2:8-15; Titus 3:3-7; Hebrews 10:19-22; 1John 5:6-12)


In fact, the Holy Spirit is himself the glorious nature, holy presence, and miraculous power of God the Father and also of Jesus, for He inherited it from His Father. It is the same Spirit of the Father that raised Jesus from the dead and that was also sent throughout the Earth and poured out upon us, born-again believers. (Genesis 1:1-2; Isaiah 11:1-2; Matthew 10:19-20; Luke 4:16-21; John 4:23-24; 14:16-21; 17:20-26; 20:19-22; Acts 1:8; 2:16-21, 32-33, 38-39; 8:36-39; 10:36-38; 16:6-8; Romans 8:9-17; 1Corinthians 2:10-12; 2Corinthians 1:21-22; 3:16-18; Galatians 4:4-7; Ephesians 1:3-14; Philippians 1:18-19; Revelation 4:5; 5:6)


A new life to love and serve God and Jesus


The Holy Spirit of Jesus is given to us so that we may experience a very intimate and personal communion with God the Father and with Jesus, praying in the Spirit and meditating on the Word. Through this dynamic of the Spirit, we can sanctify ourselves daily, that is, mortify any carnal thought that wants to sprout again. (John 4:23-24; 17:3; Romans 8:12-17, 26-39; Galatians 5:16-25; 2Thessalonians 2:13-17; 1John 1:3; Jude 1:20-25)


In addition, the Holy Spirit—Jesus in us (Galatians 2:20)—will help us love and live in harmony with our brothers and sisters in the faith, and will give us the courage to share the Good News about the Messiah with the lost. He will also give us the power to heal, deliver, and equip others to serve God and Jesus. (Matthew 5:13-16; Mark 16:15-18; Luke 4:18-19; John 14:12; Acts 1:8; 4:23-37; Romans chapter 6; 2Corinthians chapter 4; 5:14-21; Ephesians 2:10; Philippians 2:12-13)


God’s Plea for Submission and Reconciliation


GOD the Father wants to deliver us from all agony and illness and oppression, and from the eternal punishment. That is why He offers us a new birth and a new life out of grace and mercy and love for us, through his LIFELINE, which is his beloved Son JESUS, who gave Himself as a ransom for all. He is the Door and the only Way that leads us to the eternal, invisible and immortal God. (John 3:16; 10:7-10; 14:6; Romans 5:8-11; 2Corinthians 5:18-21; 1Timothy 2:5-6; 1Timothy 6:13-16)


Surrender to God, receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and inherit the wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit, so that the Father and the Son may dwell in you forever! (John 14:15-24; Acts 2:38-39)


Words of Light and Life from Jesus the Messiah


For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” (John 3:16-17)


“I am the Light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the Light of Life.” (John 8:12)


“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)


“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Mathew 11:28-30)


“Whoever drinks water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the Water that I shall give him will never thirst; but the Water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life.” (John 4:13-14)



HOME ENTRY >