Houma Bible Study Notes: Salvation History #2

Last week we traveled through the Old  Testament starting with creation. God’s purpose for creation was to give man a place to dwell, and He gave him dominion over the creation, but Adam’s disobedience through the fall allowed Satan to usurp Adam’s rightful authority. Immediately after the fall, God began the process of restoring man to his intended position. God performed the first sacrifice when He made skins for them.

After the fall, matters only worsened. The fallen angels became aware that God planned to destroy their power through the seed of the woman. Their counter strike was that they intermarried with the daughters of men and produced a hybrid race of giants that the Bible calls the Nephilim. It is my belief and the belief of the ancient Jews that the spirits of the disembodied Nephilim are the demon spirits that attempt to draw us away from God today.

If the fall was an individual rebellion of the first family against God, the Tower of Babel was the first corporate rebellion. The plans of Babel live on today. Whether we realize it or not, the world that we live on is blanketed with a Satanic plan of darkness (1 JN 5:19) that is speeding towards an attempt to topple God’s authority on earth. While most people would say that they don’t believe that can happen (I don’t either), but most of these same people are oblivious to the fact that it’s even occurring.

It was with the character Abraham where we concluded our journey. Specifically, we discussed the Genesis 22 narrative that is so reminiscent of the story of Jesus’ life that it’s hard to believe that it’s accidental.

Abraham, the father of a supernatural son, supernatural in the sense that Abraham was 99 and Sarah was 90. Interestingly, the Genesis 22 narrative also describes Isaac as being a willing sacrifice, who carried wood up a hill. We correlated the Similarities between the Genesis passage, and John chapter 3, where the word of God says that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. We compared that to the Genesis 22 narrative where God told Abraham to take his son his only son, and to offer him as a sacrifice on the mountain that he would be shown. And after the class it was noted by one of the participants that mount Moriah (where Abraham was instructed to offer Isaac) is considered by many to be the very same mountain upon which Jesus was crucified.

Tonight, Abraham has a large influence on our discussion again. Let’s reconsider the thought of justification by faith. There are 3 words that must be considered when discussing this topic: 1) the word itself— justification, 2) faith,  and 3) righteousness.

It is important to note that justification and righteousness are very similar in their meaning; however, there is a slight variation. The word righteousness describes the believer’s right standing with God, which is a gift given to Him by Jesus through His work on the cross. Justification describes God’s agreement that the believer is now justified. The catalyst that caused this transaction was the believer’s willingness to believe by faith in the plan of God, which I will explain is Jesus Christ and Him crucified and can also be labeled as the seed and the sacrifice.

Here is an illustration that may be helpful: Jesus paid for the sins of the whole world. God has given every human being a measure of faith (Romans 12:3) and a freewill. That means that man can choose to believe God’s word, or he doesn’t have to, it’s completely up to him. Salvation is paid for, it’s like money in an ATM machine, but in order to enjoy the benefits, a person has to drive and enter the pin. Faith is the pin that accesses the account of righteousness.

God went through great lengths and thousands of years of human history to bring us to the place where he released Jesus to the world. He created a nation out of one man named Abraham, and that through that one man he gave the nation of Israel to the world. Ultimately, through Israel, the Messiah, the Christ, the anointed one, whose name was Jesus, was born into the world of a virgin and and whose Father is God.

The scripture says that Jesus is the righteousness of God (Romans 3:27). One of the main points that I want  to get across tonight describes the object of our faith. This thought is important especially since faith is somewhat of an abstract thought. The simplified version is that God’s plan for salvation is Jesus Christ and Him crucified. When the believer hears the gospel (good news) and accepts it by faith, a spiritual miracle takes place on the inside of his heart, and he becomes born again. Jesus said, unless a man is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God, nor can he enter into the kingdom of God (John 3:3).

In the discussion that Jesus had with Nicodemus, the Pharisee, he explained that a man must be born both of water and of the spirit (JN 3:5), to enter the kingdom of God. Then he repeats what he is saying, and says that a man must be born in the flesh, but also in the spirit (JN 3:5).

Many people believe that this is speaking of water baptism when he uses the word water in the first verse that we just discussed; however, there is an obvious comparison taking place between verses 5 and 6. In verse 6, the word flesh is clearly speaking of natural birth; whereas, the word spirit is clearly speaking of spiritual birth. If we work backwards, into verse 5, there is no question that Spirit relates to spirit, after all, it’s the exact same word being used in both verses. But what about the word water? What does the word water here mean? Most people automatically jump to the thought of water baptism and the reason they do that is because they view the scriptures from the mindset that water baptism and conversion work together in the New Covenant, but Christian baptism was not even in existence yet when Jesus made this statement. Yes, there were forms of baptism, or shall we call them ceremonial cleansing, but John the Baptist’s baptism was not the same as Christian baptism.

The word water in verse 5 is not referring to water baptism, rather, it is referring to natural birth. A baby is situated in amniotic fluid, and while, they didn’t call it that, they were certainly aware that when a baby was born, the water gushed out with the baby.

The first birth in Adam, is a natural birth in the flesh and the baby comes out in water. The second birth in Christ is a spiritual birth where the believer is baptized first by the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13) into Jesus, where they become one with Him in His body, and water baptism is the outward expression of that inner truth. Then there is the baptism of the Spirit (MT 3:11).

There are 3 specific forms of baptism recorded in scripture:

1. Baptism into Christ—the Spirit baptizes the believer into Christ

2. Baptism in water a—believer or pastor baptizes another believer into water

3. Baptism of the Spirit—Jesus baptizes the believer into the Spirit

When discussing the object of faith, I like to use the terminology the seed and the sacrifice to describe what ultimately finds it’s fulfillment in Jesus Christ and Him crucified. What we need to understand is that God has been giving promises, regarding the plan of salvation,  ever since the fall took place in the garden. Last week we discussed the fact that scholars and commentators describe the proclamation that was spoken in Genesis, chapter 3, as the Proto- evangelium. We discussed the fact that that was the first time that the gospel was preached, and if that be the case, then God was the first one to preach the gospel.

When He preached the gospel, God preached to the serpent that it would be the seed of the woman that would crush the (the serpent’s/his) head. In addition, during the process the heel of the seed of the woman would be crushed. The idea would be that in the crushing of the serpent’s head, his (the serpent’s) authority was destroyed, but during that process, the seed of the woman was injured. certainly, we can state that Jesus was injured even to the point of death on the cross, however, he did not lose his authority by dying on the cross, instead he gained the fulfillment of his authority in his active obedience towards the Father’s will. At the same time, through this crushing, the serpent’s authority was destroyed.

The seed and the sacrifice, is the unfolding of God’s salvation plan that becomes more clear as the pages of His word are turned.

The seed

The idea of the seed describes the offspring that God promised through the ages. For thousands of years, He used the mouths of His prophets to repeatedly foretell the coming of Messiah [Hebrew for anointed one]. This part of the teaching will only briefly hit specific points in Israel’s history that pointed to the promised one.

Seed of the woman

The first promise was foretold in the garden after the fall, God said, And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel—Genesis 3:15 [KJV]

Seed of Abraham

The next stop on the journey is with Abraham, so before Israel was even a nation, the seed was promised through Eve and now through Abraham. There are multiple places where God speaks about the promised seed of Abraham, but Genesis 22:18 says it well, “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”      

Abraham had a son named Isaac, Isaac had a son named Jacob, Jacob’s name was changed to Israel. Israel had 12 sons and these 12 sons became the 12 tribes of Israel. We will call him Jacob for now, because that was his name when he married Laban’s two daughters Leah and Rachel. Judah was Jacob and Leah’s fourth son. You will soon read Jacob’s prophecy over his son Judah when he was an old man and about to die, but it’s important to understand that Judah was the kingly tribe of Israel:

Seed of Judah

The sceptre shall not depart from Judah,

nor a lawgiver from between his feet,

until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be Genesis 49:10 [KJV]

Scepter= a king’s staff

Lawgiver= a governor, or one set in place

Until Shiloh come= Shiloh 1; he whose it is, that which belongs to him_ Strong’s Hebrew dictionary

In other words, the king’s staff [scepter]will go through the Judah seed and it will rest in the hands of the one who it belongs to.

Seed of David

2 Samuel 7:12-13 12 When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 *He shall build a house for My name, and I will *establish the throne of his kingdom [forever]

The seed of the woman, Abraham, Judah and David is the Word that became flesh

The final stage in God’s plan of bringing the promised seed to earth is found in the gospel of John:

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…John 1:14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The sacrifice

A sacrifice for the first sinners [a couple]

The first sacrifice is alluded to in Genesis after the fall. First, the bruising of His [the seed of the women’s] heel from the head of the serpent is a direct reference to the injury of the cross. Furthermore, Genesis 3:21

The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them; it is likely that most people would skip over this passage and never consider the fact that this is referring to a sacrificial offering performed by God to cover the sin of Adam and Eve as humanity awaits the arrival of the Lamb of God. However, when this scripture is compared to (Genesis 1:29), other options become limited. Before the fall, men did not eat animals, they were herbivores. Unless God spoke the skins into existence, the first animal death occurred to provide the skins that were needed to cover sin.

As we move forward in the scriptures, the portrait of forgiveness slowly develops. God’s plan of forgiveness starts and finishes with the innocent dying for the guilty. Adam and Eve transgressed God, not this innocent animal from which these skins were acquired.

A sacrifice for a family

The next sacrificial offering in the progression is found in the book of Exodus: Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers’ households, a lamb for each household Exodus 12:3.

From a couple to a family, the range of forgiveness broadens. The story of the Passover lamb is very powerful. God’s people had been Egyptian slaves for 400 years and He was ready to deliver them from bondage. Ultimately, the Lord instructed them to take the blood from the lamb and paint it on the door posts and side posts of their houses; then they were instructed to go inside and eat the roasted lamb; as they stayed inside and ate, the death angel passed through and judged Egypt [the world]; whereas, God’s people remained safe.

What a powerful picture of salvation through Jesus! We were born slaves to sin and in bondage to the world like God’s people in Egypt, but through faith in Jesus and His death on the cross, His blood is applied to our hearts. One day judgment will come upon the world, but for those who have accepted the gospel of Jesus Christ, their sin was judged on Him!

A sacrifice for a nation

There is a special day on the Jewish calendar known as the Day of Atonement. This feast is described in Leviticus 16: With his finger he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it seven times and cleanse it, from the impurities of the sons of Israel consecrate it NASB Leviticus 16:19.

God instructs that the High Priest must sprinkle blood on top of the mercy seat once per year to provide a covering of the sin for the entirety of the nation. Leviticus 16:24…and come forth and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people and make atonement for himself and for the people NASB.

The previous types find their fulfillment in the declaration of John the Baptist on the banks of the Jordan river: John 1:29 The next day he *saw Jesus coming to him and *said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is the day that the darkened world engulfed by sin had been waiting for.

Jesus is the righteousness of God (Romans 3:27), He was the sinless lamb, sent in human form from heaven to earth to pay the penalty for sinful man. He died and paid the sin debt (Romans 6:23). He had no sin; therefore, death had no right over Him and He rose in victory over death, Hell, and the grave (1 Corinthians 15:54-57). Now, when the gospel is preached, and a sinner believes in this truth by faith, they are saved (Ephesians 1:13). Upon believing, they are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise (Ephesians 1:13), they are given the gift of righteousness (Romans 5:17). They are given the gift of Jesus’ righteousness, in God’s mind, they are now clothed with His righteousness (Galatians 3:27).

There are two more thoughts, at least for the purpose of these notes:

1. Access to grace through justification by faith

2. Abraham’s meeting in the King’s valley

Justification by faith provides us access into grace, and it is our connection to Grace that gives us the power that we need in order to be able to stand in the face of adversity and continue to live our lives for the Lord throughout this journey (Romans 5:1,2)

Jesus’ righteousness was offered on the cross to God to pay for our guilt. When we heard that truth and believed it by faith, His righteousness was given to us based on our faith in God’s truth. Now, clothed in His righteousness, the Father sees us in Christ! He no longer sees our guilt, He sees the blood of Jesus! Now, we’re in right standing, and God agrees, so His declaration [verdict] is “Justified” in other words, God agrees and says that we are righteous.

Now, that we are justified, Romans 5:2 explains that we have access into grace in which we stand. Grace has multiple applications, but for brevity let’s keep it to [2] concepts: 1) forgiving or saving grace and 2)  standing or power grace.

Grace- A divine influence on the heart and it’s reflection in the life_ Strong’s Greek dictionary

Close with a story the King’s valley:

Abraham believed the word of God and left his father’s home. Like a pilgrim he began the unknown journey of faith looking for the destination that God promised would be his. He looked for a land where he could settle, a place where God would provide the promise of making Him a great nation, a place where his promised seed would provide a blessing for the entirety of the world.

His nephew Lot joined him on the journey. Along the way, the hand of God’s blessing was upon Abraham and Lot. God’s hand of blessing will always be on the child of God who keeps faith in the Lord and obeys the will of God as he/she continues their spiritual journey. Abraham and Lot were herdsmen and their flocks became so abundant that it became hard for them to find enough grass to feed their herds and this caused contention and strife between the two different crews.

Abraham recognizing that it wasn’t godly for them to quarrel, said to Lot, “we are a brothers, let’s not do it this way. You take whatever direction you want and it will be yours and I will take the opposite and we will go our separate ways.”

The scripture says that Lot looked on the plain of Jordan and saw that it was well watered. He chose that part for himself and Abraham went another direction.

There is an extremely powerful spiritual truth found in this part of the story. Walking in the Spirit is not the same as making decisions based on human intellect or wisdom. Abraham was making his decisions based upon the promises of God. Faith brought him on this journey and it would be faith and faith alone that would get him to the destination. It should be understood that Abraham made many fleshly decisions, but thank God that in God’s mercy, Abraham made it to the destination and more importantly, God is a covenant keeping God.

Unfortunately, Lot did not make his decision based on faith. His eyes saw the land and it made sense. He was a herdsman and the plain was well watered, but his decision put his tent facing Sodom.

As the years passed, he moved closer towards the city of Sodom, until one day, we read that he is conducting business at the gates and he has moved his family into the city. We must be vigilant child of God. The enemy will set many traps of bait and attempt to slowly pull us back into the world.

The result is that Lot gets caught up in the mess of the world. Five kings descend on the city of Sodom and others and take hostages. Lot is caught in the skirmish and is now taken captive. What a powerful spiritual truth is found in this aspect of the story. The enemy sets a baited trap that looks pleasant to the eyes, but is not God’s will for the life. Lot, a type of the believer, makes a decision that pulls him into the world, and now, he’s caught up and made a slave of sin. How many well intentioned believers have lost their freedom from compromise with the world.

Abraham hears that Lot was taken, and with an army of 318 servants, defeats the kings and releases the captives. I went backwards in the narrative to bring you to this amazing spot in the scripture that I have found through the years of study. I would call this the king’s valley.

In chapter 14, we are told that name of the king of Sodom is Bera. After the battle, Abraham is in a place called the king’s dale in the KJV and the king’s valley in other translations. While Abraham is in the valley, Bera, king of Sodom goes to meet him. Bera makes an offer The king of Sodom said to Abram, “21 Give the people to me and take the goods for yourself.” Genesis 14:21

He wants the souls or people to make slaves for himself, this was a common practice in these days. He is trying to exchange material possessions for the souls of men. This should sound very familiar to our ears, in that Satan is constantly offering material possessions, success and worldly pleasures in exchange for the souls of men.

22 Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have sworn to the LORD God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth, 23 that I will not take a thread or a sandal thong or anything that is yours, for fear you would say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ Genesis 14:22-23

There is another king that meets Abraham in the king’s valley his name is Melchizedek. He is only mentioned 3 places in the Bible, but his name and purpose to the plan of God are extremely important. What’s amazing to me is what he offers Abraham and then Abraham’s response: 18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High. Genesis 14:18.

Then Melchizedek…blessed him and said,

“Blessed be Abram of God Most High,

Possessor of heaven and earth; Genesis 14:19

And Abraham, V20… gave him a tenth of all. Genesis 14:20

So let’s recap what just happened before we dig deeper. Abraham went to save his family from being a captive. During the process many were saved. One of the kings, Bera of Sodom, offers him material possessions as a trade for the souls of men and the other king, Melchizedek of Salem brings bread and wine [communion] and then speaks a blessing over Abraham’s life. Abraham’s response for the communion and the blessing is that he gives him a tithe of the possessions, which is a tenth. This is the first tithe ever recorded in the Bible.

The amount of New Testament truth contained in this story so far is amazing! How powerful that God would allow this story in Abraham’s life to be played out in reality 2,000 years in advance and it is so similar to our new life in Christ. We were captives in bondage to the world. God sent Jesus to save us. He sent Jesus as an offering of communion. Communion is a compound word by the way— Common-union. Those who are part of the body of Christ through faith in His sacrifice have a common- union. The bread and wine that represent His sinless life and sacrificial death on the cross represent and remind us that God saved us. We pay tithes, not to a church, not to a man, but to God. Our willingness to be obedient to His word is one powerful way that we can worship God. When we do, we acknowledge God’s ownership over our lives.

Now, let’s dig a little deeper. Consider the names and reigns of these kings. Bera reigns over Sodom, a city famous for the vilest of sin. His name in the Hebrew language literally means, son of evil.

Melchizedek reigns over Salem. Salem was the name of ancient Jerusalem. The name Jerusalem means peace. Melchizedek is also a compound word. Melch means king and zedek means righteousness. Melchizedek is king over peace and he is the king of righteousness.

Abraham, the father of the faith found himself in a valley in the midst of the battles of life. He was forced with a choice. Would he choose to serve the king of evil or would he serve the king of righteousness and peace? Every human will have to enter the king’s valley, and in that place, they will not leave until they have made a choice and decide who they will serve.