Introduction.
And he arose and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him, Luke 15:20.
The first four words in the Bible are «In the beginning God created …», so we can ask ourselves why God created. Did God have nothing else to do, or did He create just for fun?
We know from Bible history that Lucifer, the highest in rank among all that God had created, rebelled against God and said that God was a tyrant and that no one could keep God’s law, which is the same as God’s Ten Commandments. God could well have removed this problem by eliminating Lucifer, but then Lucifer’s accusations would have remained forever. For the record, Lucifer became Satan, and this is the name I will use for him from now on.
In order to restore law and order in the universe, God had to do something very special. God had to refute all the accusations that Satan had hurled at Him. God had to produce someone who could keep His law and show all other creatures in the entire universe that He was not a tyrant, but that He is a God of love.
There are several good reasons why God created, and I think one of the reasons why God created is because God is love and that he wanted someone with whom he could share his love, who in turn could reflect God’s qualities and love. Although the angels and all the other living beings are also created by God, these beings have different characters than what humans were given. Another reason is that God wanted to show all living beings in the entire universe that it is entirely possible to keep God’s law. God created man with free will, and they were given God’s ten commandments, and together with the ten commandments they also received a law: … Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die, (Genesis 2:16-17).
One of the accusations that Satan made against God was that God’s law was impossible to keep, and that God was therefore a tyrant. After man was created and put in the Garden of Eden, they were able to keep all God’s commandments and laws. This was another great blow to Satan, so he decided to make people break God’s commandments. He seduced Eve and she ate of the forbidden fruit. She also made Adam eat of the fruit of the forbidden tree.
Then we see how quickly sin develops and already on the same day Adam blamed Eve, and Eve blamed the serpent. What they actually did was blaming God for their sin. Adam said: The woman whom thou gavest [to be] with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat, (Genesis 3:12). Eve said: The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat, (Genesis 3:13). Actually, both put the blame God, and Adam is saying: The woman whom You created made me eat, while Eve is saying that the serpent whom You created deceived me.
Yet God did not give up on Adam and Eve, but shows His infinite and boundless love, and tells them that there is a plan of salvation (Genesis 3:15) that when the time is right will be revealed to their descendants. The punishment was that they lost the right to the tree of life when they were expelled from the Garden of Eden. But the most important thing is the love and grace that God showed the first two people.
All texts are from the King James Version 1611/1769, unless otherwise stated.
God’s love.
Let’s look at God’s love and start where it all started with the creation that took six days, and which lays the foundation for how we can understand God’s love. Next, we will look at the Fall and Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross.
The creation.
The first verse in the Bible tells us that God created the heavens and the earth: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth (Genesis 1:1). Implicit in the Hebrew word barah translated as created is that God created something out of nothing. It is only God that can barah create something out of nothing. Then the creation story continues day by day, and we see that God creates something each of the first six days of the creation week, and we also see that the sixth day differs slightly from the other five days.
Day 1, verses 3-5:
And God said: Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that [it was] good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
Day 2, verses 6-8:
And God said: Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament and divided the waters which [were] under the firmament from the waters which [were] above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
Day 3, Verses 9-13:
And God said: Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry [land] appear: and it was so. And God called the dry [land] Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that [it was] good. And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, [and] the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed [is] in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, [and] herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed [was] in itself, after his kind: and God saw that [it was] good. And the evening and the morning were the third day.
Day 4, verses 14-19:
And God said: Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: [he made] the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that [it was] good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
Day 5, verses 20-23:
And God said Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl [that] may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that [it was] good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
Day 6, verses 24-25:
And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and everything that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that [it was] good.
God first created a perfect and perfect world by simply saying the words let there be light, and similar expressions. By His word alone, God created a world full of light and life of all kinds. There was a reason why God created this world. He wanted to put a creature there who would be like God in many ways. Man was created in God’s image, that is, as a copy of God, and they were to have dominion over the earth and all the living creatures that God had created. Everything that was created before man was created came into being by the word of God, and after each action, God expresses that it was good.
When God created man, we see from the text that God expresses himself in a different way. When God created the living creature he said (verse 24) … Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind … … Let’s see what God said when He created man:
Day 6, verses 26-31:
And God said: Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his [own] image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which [is] upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which [is] the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein [there is] life, [I have given] every green herb for meat: and it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, [it was] very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
It says nothing about how God created man in chapter 1, this is explained in chapter 2 which is an extension of the creation story itself. In Genesis 2:7 we see how God created man: And the LORD God formed man [of] the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Here we see the Almighty Creator, He who created the greatest stars and planets and the entire universe with all living beings just by uttering the words let there be, bending down and standing on his knees in the dust, and with his loving hands shaping man and give him life from its own breath of life. This shows God’s love and care for us. To God, we are the most valuable thing there is. Everything else that God created before man came into existence only by God’s word. He could have done the same with man, but it would have been impersonal compared to the personal way God chose to create man. This means that ever since creation, God has wanted a personal and intimate relationship with man.
A week consists of seven days, but we have only looked at what God did in the first six days. On the seventh day of the creation week, God did something very special. This is something that deserves special attention from us.
God had created a perfect world where humans would have the right to rule. In other words, they were to maintain and take care of this planet and the living beings that God had created to be company for humans. Everything was perfect and characterized by God’s infinite and boundless love, but still one thing remained for God to do before He was completely satisfied. In Genesis 2:2-3 we read what God did: And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work, which God created and made.
That God rested on the seventh day is not because God was tired after creation, for an all-powerful God cannot be tired. Man who was created towards the end of the sixth day had neither done any work, nor needed rest. However, God had a desire for this day, and that was to be with the people, so that they would learn to know their creator.
If we go to the fourth commandment found in Exodus 20:8-11 we read this text: Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son or your daughter, your male or female servant, your livestock, or your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. As we see, man shall work six days a week, and one day a week shall be a day of rest for man. It is the seventh day of the week – the Saturday – that the Lord wants to be with us humans in a special way, among other things to bless us
It was not for a life without work that humans were created, they were created to keep order in the Garden of Eden and grow the food they were supposed to eat: And the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it, (Genesis 2:15).
Only God can make something holy, and when it says that God sanctified and blessed the seventh day, it means that God is always present on the seventh day – together with those who want to worship God the Creator. All who show up on this holy day of God will be abundantly blessed by God.
What we have seen during creation is a powerful testimony to God’s infinite and boundless love. God created a world that was perfect in harmony and beauty. Our first ancestors brought sin into the world with the result that all life, both plants, animals and humans, has gone through a degeneration, but still we can see God’s fingerprints in all that He created.
Adam and Eve and Satan’s temptation.
We do not know how long after creation it was that Adam and Eve fell into sin. When they sinned against God, they caused something they were not aware of. They opened an abyss so deep and so wide that no man can cross it. The reason is that where God is, there can be no sin. Man was separated from God.
But what does God do? Does God leave people to themselves? It may seem that way when we see how the world has become today. But no, God does not abandon man to his own fate. Instead of rejecting man, who time and again breaks God’s law and God’s Ten Commandments, He cares for us and shows us the greatest love there is.
The next manifestation of God’s love we see is God’s concern for the situation in which man was. God is all-knowing and all-powerful, so he knew what had happened. He was aware that Adam and Eve had sinned and hid themselves in the garden. Yet he calls out to them: Adam … where art thou? (Genesis 3:9). God knew very well where Adam and Eve were, so the question God asks Adam (and Eve) is to make them realize the situation they find themselves in.
Why did God do this? There is only one reason for it, and that is that God wanted to bring people back to Himself, so that one day, when the final settlement with sin has been made, we too can walk together with our God and Creator in a world that will be recreated as it was when it came forth from the hand of God on the first day.
God’s greatest desire is to be with you and me, and when the fall was a reality, God did something that many find difficult to believe and understand. God made a salvation plan to be able to bring people back to Him one day. According to Paul, the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), and all are sinners (Romans 3:23). Because of the fall, and that we are all sinners it is our destiny to die. Not just the physical death we see daily, but an eternal death. The plan of salvation is the means that God chose to use to bring people back to Him. It meant that the Son of God, Jesus Christ, took our punishment upon himself so that we can be imputed to the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Jesus died on the cross for my sake so that, one day, I will be able to come home to my God and Creator. The only condition God sets is that I believe in this and accept Jesus as my saviour.
In 1 John, chapter 4 verse 10, we find another verse that describes God’s infinite and boundless love. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son [to be] the propitiation for our sins.
This verse helped change me from being an atheist to accepting Christ as my saviour. But God does not work without using other people. When I met my wife, Cayetana, I was an atheist. Ever since she was widowed, she had been asking to meet a man who could share her faith! God sent her an atheist! But Cayetana believed in God’s promises, and in John we find a verse that illustrates the faith my wife has in God, and in God’s promises. In John 15:16 it says: Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and [that] your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
Slowly but surely the atheist was changed and found salvation in Jesus Christ, not because I wanted to become an Adventist – because I had no desire to become one. I jokingly say, I am an Adventist against my will, because it was God, and God’s love, that changed me. I just wanted to be myself – the atheist. But luckily, God’s will is stronger than mine.
I, who in no way wanted anything to do with God and Jesus, saw clearly that God and Jesus are a reality. I, who never owned a Bible, now have a cupboard full of Bibles in different editions and in different languages. I, who never read the Bible, cannot go a day without studying the scriptures.
Just as Satan tempted and caused Adam and Eve to fall, so Satan has worked to cause all men to fall. When Adam and Eve had two sons, Cain and Abel, they had learned from their parents how to sacrifice and what to offer for their sins. The Savior Himself had taught Adam and Eve, explaining to them why, how, and what to offer and what this meant.
Satan, who is always near God’s people to get them to sin against God, managed to get Cain to sacrifice what he had sown, tended, watered, and provided for in every way. This is to justify himself by his own works. Abel, on the other hand, offered a lamb, an innocent lamb that he had done nothing to produce, which is to trust in God’s love and grace. It ended, as we know, with Cain killing Abel. After this, sin developed more rapidly than we can imagine, and the earth was eventually settled by people who did not care about God and God’s Ten Commandments and God’s law.
God could have easily ended “project man” the day they sinned against Him, but the Creator did not. Ever since that fateful day in the Garden of Eden, He has done everything He can do without violating His own principle that we call free will.
Jesus died on the cross for you and me.
Why did Jesus die on the cross? We need to find the right answer to this question, and to find this answer we must go to the Bible.
When John the Baptist saw Jesus coming to the Jordan River to be baptized, he said, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world, (John 1:29). We know from the Old Testament that God had prescribed a daily sacrifice, a lamb without blemish to be offered for the sins of the people. In Leviticus 5:6 we read the following: And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD for his sin which he hath sinned, a female from the flock, a lamb or a kid of the goats, for a sin offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his sin. This had to be done so that the one who had sinned would be forgiven his sins.
Hey, wait a minute, many will say, this was in Old Testament times, and it does not apply to us in our time. This is true to a certain extent, because when Jesus died on the cross, He abolished all temple service, which included the animal sacrifices that had to be made before Jesus’ death. When Jesus died, He was the antitype of the old system, which was only a type of what Jesus would come and do. We also have our daily sacrifice now in our time – the end times – and that is our daily prayers. Even though Jesus died on the cross for us, that does not mean that we are no longer sinners. We are, and Paul puts it this way in Romans 3:23: For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
Ezekiel 18:20 tells us the following: The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. This means that without a sacrifice we shall perish, and no man is able to offer a sacrifice acceptable to God the Father.
To escape this penalty, which is death, we must be cleansed with blood, for as it is written in Hebrews 9:22, almost all things must be cleansed with blood: And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. It is an incredibly high price to pay with one’s blood for the forgiveness of sins, and we humans are not qualified to do this on our own. Then we can look at what Peter says in his first letter: as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, [as] silver and gold, from your vain conversation [received] by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, (1 Peter 1:18-19).
We can state that Jesus came into the world as 100% man. He who is 100% God, and who is worshipped by all the other living beings in the entire universe, He who created everything that exists, He came into the world to take the punishment that you and I deserve. Jesus came to die for you, and for me so that we could be credited with His righteousness on the day of judgment.
Although the Bible is crystal clear that Jesus died so that you and I could be saved through His blood (see 1 Peter 1:18-19), the Catholic Church says that Jesus did die for mankind, but it is His good works, not His blood, that together with the good works of His mother Mary and all the saints that this church is full of, give us salvation!
The Bible is also full of verses that tell us that it is the blood of Jesus that gives us salvation. In Acts 20:28, Luke writes this: Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. God, through Jesus Christ, purchased the church from all sin with His own blood.
Paul says in Ephesians 1:7: In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace. Paul also says that it is in the blood of Jesus that we have redemption, which is the same as salvation.
The writer of Hebrews also discusses this topic, and in chapter 9 verses 12-14 he says: Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption [for us]. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
After Jesus ascended to heaven on Ascension Day, He entered the heavenly temple with His blood to guarantee eternal redemption and salvation to all who will accept Christ as their Savior.
The apostle of love writes in Revelation 1:5 this: … … the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood.
This is the reason why Jesus died on the cross, because His blood is the only means that can save us from our sins, and this our Savior and God does out of pure grace, because if we had been presented before God the Father in judgment without the blood of Jesus having cleansed us from all sin, it would have been a death sentence for all people.
When I was condemned to death, Jesus Christ took my place. When He died on the cross, He gave His blood to cleanse a sinner like me so that I might live.
God’s characteristics:
Since the fall, God has called us humans and wants us to turn from our ways. One of the ways God calls us can be found in Ezekiel 33:11. Say unto them, [As] I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
Even today, God calls people, of which I am living proof. It runs like a red thread through the Bible that God calls sinners to repentance. Right from the first book of the Bible – Adam, where art thou? (Genesis 3:9), to the last book in the Bible – Come out of her my people (Revelation 18:4) God calls us to make us seek him.
God is ready to answer each and every one who calls on his name by giving them a new life in Christ, a life in abundance and a promise of eternal life.
When we then turn around and seek God, God tells us how he will respond to our search for him. In Luke 15:11-32 we find a parable called «The Lost Son». This parable is about how God looks at, and not least how he welcomes those who turn to him.
We are all God’s children – hence father and son(s) in this story – some are faithful to God, while others are not. The son who asked for his inheritance is in reality asking God to do as he wants with his life, and God, who has given us free will, allows us to do so.
There are a couple of important points we need to know about the culture and context in which this story was told. A parable is used to illustrate a story in a way that the audience is familiar with, and with images that they also know well from everyday life.
In the time of Jesus, it was a monstrous thought, simply unthinkable that one should ask to receive one’s inheritance before the father was dead, it was understood to mean that one wanted the life of one’s father, and it was thus seen as a sin.
Equally unthinkable was that an elderly man should run at all, it was far below his dignity.
To feed swine, or herding pigs, and eating the same food as pigs was the most despicable thing a Jew could do.
Luke 15:20 shows us how God acts when we seek him. And he arose and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
We see that when the father saw his son coming back, he forgets everything about custom and traditions and runs, which is beneath his dignity. As I said, the story is about God’s dealings with people.
The story is about God’s interaction with people.
The parable:
1) The son asks for his inheritance.
2) The son leaves home.
3) The son understands that it was better at his father’s house, wants to go home, if he were only a servant it would be better.
4) The son returns, his father sees him, feels heartfelt pity for him, and runs to meet the son.
5) The son acknowledges his sin and unworthiness, while the father receives him as if nothing had happened.
The reality:
1) We sin.
2) We do not want to have anything to do with God (anymore).
3) The understanding that there is something better is a result of God’s call.
4) When we repent of the sinful life we live and turn to God, God feels pity for us, comes to meet us and welcomes us with outstretched hands.
5) When we repent from a sinful life, and when we acknowledge that we are sinners and ask God for forgiveness, God responds by making us heirs of the kingdom of heaven.
This story shows us a God who longs for us to turn around so that He can receive us. When we acknowledge our guilt, God is immediately there to help us. The son got new clothes – a festive suit, which here is a picture of Jesus’ righteousness, a ring, which is a sign that he is the rightful heir to the kingdom of God. And as it says in verse 24, the son was dead – spiritually dead and has been made alive – spiritually alive. This means that absence from God is the same as being dead, while being in God’s presence gives life in abundance. It is to give us eternal life in abundance, which is God’s wishes and thoughts for us: For I know what thoughts I think about you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of any evil. I will give you future and hope, (Jeremiah 29:11).
Another story that describes God’s love for people is this: And early in the morning, he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down and taught them. And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with [his] finger wrote on the ground, [as though he heard them not]. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. And they which heard [it], being convicted by [their own] conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, [even] unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. (John 8:2-11.)
This story shows us how God treats us humans. Despite the fact that the woman, who according to the Mosaic Law had broken one of the commandments, and was to be stoned, Jesus does not want to stone her, and He does not condemn her either, but the God of love who says to the woman what He will say to each and every person who lives in sin. Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel? (Ezekiel 18:31).
I think I should add that today’s Christians are the same as the house of Israel. When the Jews rejected Jesus, the gospel was given to the Gentiles, and ethnicity, who your ancestor is, is no longer necessary to be Israel (the house of Israel), but to accept Jesus Christ as your saviour. Then you are an heir to the kingdom of God.
Jesus wanted the woman to repent and seek God with all her heart. God does not condemn anyone regardless of what sins the individual has committed but wants them to turn to him with sincere seeking hearts. God’s love is truly infinite and boundless..
When Jesus hung on the cross, he showed another side of God’s love. Instead of thinking about what punishment those who crucified him would receive, he says a short little prayer for them. Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do, (Luke 23:34).
The whole story of Jesus’ crucifixion shows us God’s infinite and boundless love. It was not necessary for Jesus to die on the cross, but then people would have been hopelessly lost. Instead of letting people perish, the Son of God, the Creator of the universe – my Creator – chose to die for me – and a sinful humanity, and this Paul says in the following way to the congregation in Rome: But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, (Romans 5:8).
By taking the punishment that is rightfully ours, Jesus saves us from death, and gives us eternal life – because he loves us. Paul summarizes this in Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The salvation.
God longs to save all people. It doesn’t matter what we have done for Jesus died for us all. No sin is too great not to be forgiven, and no sin is too small not to be forgiven. Paul says in Romans 3:23 that … all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
That is why Jesus came into the world in the first place. He came to save fallen humanity, and the Bible is full of promises God has given us sinners, if we turn to Him.
John 3,16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
2 Corinthians 6:2 For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now [is] the accepted time; behold, now [is] the day of salvation.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Ephesians 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.
Isaiah 44:22 I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.
Isaiah 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
When God created the world and humans, it was so that humans would live forever. They were given free will to choose what they wanted, including whether they wanted to obey God or not. But if free will were to have any value, humans had to be put to the test. They had to choose whether they wanted to worship God, as He wants to be worshipped, in freedom and out of love, or whether they wanted to use their free will to eat of the only fruit they were not supposed to touch. In Genesis 2:16-17 we read: And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Humans were created sinless, and they had access to the tree of life, so that they could live forever, and not least – they spoke with God face to face in the Garden of Eden. Unfortunately, Eve allowed herself to be seduced by the devil, and Adam and Eve sinned against God, which had major consequences for the entire creation.
For humans, sin resulted in the following consequences:
1) Man lost the right to the Tree of Life when they fell into sin, Genesis 3:22.
2) When man fell into sin they also fell under death, Genesis 2:17.
3) After the fall, man had to grow his food in the sweat of his face, Genesis 3:19.
4) After the fall, people were naked, Genesis 3:7.
5) Sin led to man being banished from God, Genesis 3:23.
Before people sinned, God had made a plan of salvation. In addition to saving people from their sinful state, everything that went wrong because of sin must be restored. In the last book of the Bible, in Revelation 21:1-4, we find some of the most beautiful verses in the entire Bible, which describe this restoration:
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God [is] with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, [and be] their God.
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Part of the plan of salvation is that all who have died in Christ – all who are saved – will one day rise from the dead. This is part of the restoration, and we find it in chapters 2 and 3 of Revelation, telling us the following.
1) After the resurrection, they will get the right to the tree of life back, Revelation 2:7.
2) After the resurrection, people will have eternal life again, Revelation 2:11.
3) After the resurrection they will receive the hidden manna, Revelation 2:17.
4) After the resurrection we will be clothed in white clothes, which is the righteousness of Jesus, Revelation 3:5.
5) After the resurrection we shall again be reunited with God and see him as he is, Revelation 3:12.
I think this tells us about a God who loves people, and who does everything he can for us to choose of our own free will to return to Him. God is willing to overlook all our sins, as long as we confess that we believe in Jesus Christ, and that he died on the cross to save us.
Even if we have rebelled against God, and perhaps wished God were dead (The Prodigal Son), and have not wanted to know from God, God, even if it is beneath His dignity, is ready to run to meet us when we call upon his name and repent. And even if we don’t deserve any worldly things, God will give us all rights. He welcomes us as his children, and dresses us in the finest clothes available and installs us as heirs to his kingdom.
The apostle of love, John, says it like this:
1 John 4:9-10: In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son [to be] the propitiation for our sins.
1 John 4:16: Y nosotros hemos conocido y creído el amor que Dios tiene para con nosotros. Dios es amor; y el que vive en amor, vive en Dios, y Dios en él.
This is our God – the God of love.