1. The Plan of Redemption
10/20/20 • 32 min
Adam and Eve were perfect. They lived in a perfect environment, and they had the privilege of walking and talking with God. Yet with two wrong choices, the bliss of Eden unravelled. After Eve, Adam also ate the forbidden fruit. As a result, the pair were stripped from their garments of light and found to be naked. Human nature was now degraded. And imperfect man could no longer live in a perfect environment.
Today, our very existence—though marred by pain and struggle—bears testament to the unfathomable mercy of God. The law in Eden had been stated plainly: “God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.” When the mother and father of our race chose to disobey that law, they were under the condemnation of death. If the story had ended there, none of us would be here to recount the case.
God’s law, by nature, is unchangeable, and immortal man indeed assumed mortality. Nevertheless, the Father and Son had reserved a plan for their acquittal; a legal avenue by which Adam and his posterity could obtain a second chance.
This plan is described by the apostle Paul as: “the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began”. Romans 16:26. Yes, the mechanics of the gospel, unknown to man or angel, were established from the very outset of Earth’s creation. Should sin ever exist, there would be a Saviour.
In Genesis 3:15, this ingenious plan for man’s redemption is revealed for the first time. In this one verse rests the promise of the Messiah, the controversy between Christ and Satan, and the role of the Holy Spirit in empowering man in his battle against evil.
Adam and Eve were perfect. They lived in a perfect environment, and they had the privilege of walking and talking with God. Yet with two wrong choices, the bliss of Eden unravelled. After Eve, Adam also ate the forbidden fruit. As a result, the pair were stripped from their garments of light and found to be naked. Human nature was now degraded. And imperfect man could no longer live in a perfect environment.
Today, our very existence—though marred by pain and struggle—bears testament to the unfathomable mercy of God. The law in Eden had been stated plainly: “God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.” When the mother and father of our race chose to disobey that law, they were under the condemnation of death. If the story had ended there, none of us would be here to recount the case.
God’s law, by nature, is unchangeable, and immortal man indeed assumed mortality. Nevertheless, the Father and Son had reserved a plan for their acquittal; a legal avenue by which Adam and his posterity could obtain a second chance.
This plan is described by the apostle Paul as: “the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began”. Romans 16:26. Yes, the mechanics of the gospel, unknown to man or angel, were established from the very outset of Earth’s creation. Should sin ever exist, there would be a Saviour.
In Genesis 3:15, this ingenious plan for man’s redemption is revealed for the first time. In this one verse rests the promise of the Messiah, the controversy between Christ and Satan, and the role of the Holy Spirit in empowering man in his battle against evil.
Previous Episode
Introduction: The Bread of Life
John 6:3-14 captures the extraordinary miracle wherein Christ fed a company of 5000 men (besides women and children) with one boy’s lunch of 5 barley loaves and 2 small fish. After multiplying this small yet wholesome meal to satisfy the hunger of a vast multitude, Christ told his disciples to “gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost”. Interestingly, the 12 disciples filled 12 baskets with bread that was left over.
The next day, the crowd followed Jesus to the other side of the sea and asked him: “Rabbi, when camest thou hither?” As the divine Son of God, Christ saw that the hearts of the people were more concerned with their temporal needs, than the things of heaven, coming to Him “not because [they] saw the miracles, but because [they] did eat of the loaves, and were filled”.
Christ wanted to teach them a deeper lesson. So He went on to explain the key symbol from the miracle of the previous day. He said in verse 35: “I am the bread of life”. And in verse 53: “Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.”
In this episode, we’ll unpack what Jesus meant by this analogy, and why the name Gathered Fragments holds so much value.
Next Episode
2. The Two Covenants
What is a covenant? Simply stated, a covenant is a contract. According to Webster’s dictionary, it is “a mutual agreement of two or more persons or parties, in writing and under seal, to do or to refrain from some act or thing”.
Within the pages of the Bible, one will find numerous covenants, or contracts. Consider Genesis 3:15 for example. Although the term ‘covenant’ is not used, this verse is really the starting point in the revelation of God’s covenant. As highlighted in the previous episode, this was the earliest disclosure of the plan of redemption. Right after Adam and Eve fell, God promised to place enmity between the serpent and mankind, by sending His Son—through the seed of the woman—to pay the penalty of man’s transgression and condemn sin in fallen, human nature. This critical yet beautiful verse was the unveiling of that mystery kept secret by the Father and Son since the world began.
Yet what does this “everlasting covenant” have to do with the old and new covenants? How does Scripture identify the former and the latter? And why does the apostle Paul describe the second as “a better covenant, based on better promises”? Finally, if the ten commandments formed the basis of the old covenant, and the old covenant has decayed and vanished away, then are they still binding under the new?
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