Lesson 1

The Salvation Plan

- The Written Word

GOD sent to us the Holy Spirit, also known as the Comforter (John 14:26), but He also gave us His written Word to guide those who want to walk with JESUS. The Bible is a collection of 66 books, written during thousands of years for almost 40 people from different social economic classes, graduation and periods and in most cases they didn’t know what other writer had written.

Despite this, when we read the Bible, from the first to the last book, we can see a supernatural harmony that cannot be attributed to men, but to GOD, who used those men to reveal His divine plan to all mankind.

“For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from GOD as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit”. (2 Peter 1:21)

Thus, the Bible gives us a unique vision referring to GOD’s Salvation Plan for men. From the beginning to the end of this plan, we see GOD’s love being revealed; a story in which He insistently offers His Son JESUS CHRIST to redeem mankind, delivering men from spiritual and eternal death.

In the limits of GOD’s sovereign and permissive will, many world events influenced governments and nations, determining the course of History, but for us Christians, there are six events that stand out due to their impact and influence. Each event was or will set an age transition in World History.

We are talking about the Creation and the beginning of the world; Noah’s Great Flood, when GOD offered a restart to mankind; JESUS CHRIST’s First Coming that was the moment the only way to GOD was opened. The fourth event is about to happen, which is the promised revival by GOD and caused by the HOLY SPIRIT among us, when our generation prepares the way for JESUS’ Second Coming. The fifth event is the Rapture of the Church when all those who are living a consecrated life will meet the LORD in the air. Finally, the sixth event will be CHRIST’s Coming to stablish His Kingdom of peace and justice. It is true that many other events happened, but they cannot be compared to these six events in matter of influence and impact on mankind’s History.

- Creation

We believe in one GOD who created the universe: galaxies, stars, planets, heavens, earth, seas, angels and above all, the human being. He created everything through His spoken word. At creation, GOD spoke, determined, ordered, made visible, brought to existence what did not exist before.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light”. (Genesis 1:1-3)

“This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created. When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens(…) The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being”.(Genesis 2:4-7)

- GOD’s Attributes

We are going to mention three of the many attributes of GOD: omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence. Omniscience refers to the characteristic of knowing and having the absolute real understanding of all and everything. Omnipotence is about being the highest in power and strength. Omnipresence refers to the characteristic of being present everywhere all the time. The LORD alone is GOD (Deuteronomy 4:39), and only He has these three characteristics.

Omnipotence: we believe in the Omnipotent GOD – He is the “Almighty”.

“Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude,like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: "Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns”. (Revelation 19:6)

“When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless.” (Genesis 17:1)

“The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word”.(Hebrews 1:3)

“See now that I myself am He! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand”.(Deuteronomy 32:39)

Omnipresence: We believe in the Omnipresent GOD – He is present everywhere all the time. (not in everything – that is pantheism).

“Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast”. (Psalm 139:7-10)

“The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good”.(Proverbs 15:3)

Omniscience: We believe in the Omniscient GOD – He knows absolutely everything.

“(…) Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered”. (Matthew 10:29-30)

“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:13)

- From Lucifer to Satan

The Bible tells us the beginning and fall of Satan, the enemy of our souls, in the book of Ezekiel chapter 28:

“The word of the LORD came to me: "Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: “‘You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz and emerald, chrysolite, onyx and jasper, sapphire, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared. You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings. By your many sins and dishonest trade you have desecrated your sanctuaries. So I made a fire come out from you, and it consumed you, and I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching. All the nations who knew you are appalled at you; you have come to a horrible end and will be no more". (Ezekiel 28:11-19)

GOD created angels to worship Him all the time and Lucifer, which means “Angel of light”, was one of them. He was good and GOD created him to be a worshipper angel, but he wanted to be like God and receive worship. But, according to Isaiah 48:11 (“I will not yield my glory to another”), GOD does not divide His glory with anybody, for this reason that angel was expelled from GOD’s Presence. GOD threw him to the Earth with the third part of the angels that joined Satan in his rebellion and are called demons.

“His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth”. (Revelation 12:4)

“The great dragon was hurled down – that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan , who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him”. (Revelation 12:9)

After his fall, Lucifer (Angel of light) became Satan, which means adversary and accuser. Then, Satan started an indirect fight against GOD, because he knows he would and always is defeated in a direct fight in the twinkling of an eye and at the speed and intensity of a lightning.

“I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven”. (Luke 10:18)

This indirect fight consists in attacking man to drive him out from GOD, drive away the created being from the Creator and steal the worship and devotion that must be offered only to the LORD. Satan cannot touch GOD, so he tries to touch GOD’s works, and we are His works. In other times of world story he tried to destroy mankind and he still tries in order to steal the worship offered to GOD.

- Man: GOD’s best creation

GOD created the first man, Adam, in His own image and likeness. He had authority, was able to think, influence and rule over earth and animals and he also had the power of choice in his hands.

“Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." (Genesis 1:26)

We were made at His image. It does not mean we are equal to GOD. The image is a reflex of something. For example, the shadow is an image of us that has arms, legs, upper body, but it does not reflect the original effectively.

- The triune man

Man is a spirit given by GOD that abides in a physical body, communicates and perceives the world, natural or spiritual, through the soul. Body and soul shape man’s flesh. You are a spirit that has a soul and abides in a physical body.

GOD created man as a triune being, that is to say, body, soul and spirit:

Soul – it is the set of characteristics of an individual, his nature, emotions, feelings, mind, past experiences, lifestyle, personality, etc. It is through the soul that an individual perceives the existence of the rational, emotional and psychological world.

Body – It is the physical part of an individual (not the flesh in a spiritual sense). It is with the body that the individual perceives the existence of the physical world.

Spirit – It is the breath of life given by GOD; it is the connection between the man and GOD. It is through the spirit that GOD talks to man. It is through the spirit that man perceives the existence of the spiritual world and the Presence of GOD.

Therefore, first man Adam was a complete being in the likeness of GOD, since GOD is triune, revealing as THE FATHER, SON and THE HOLY SPIRIT (Trinity). In the verse below the mention of the three persons of the Trinity is clear.

“As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."(Matthew 3:16-17)

- The entrance of sin into the world

Sin is everything that separates us from GOD. The word “sin” gives us the idea of missing the target, make a mistake, deviate.

When GOD finished mankind’s creation, He gave the man at the Garden of Eden a command: not to eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

“And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil , for when you eat of it you will surely die." (Genesis 2:16-17)

The fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, that the first couple experienced meant independence from GOD. When they experienced that fruit they used their free will in a wrong way assuming a GOD independent life. There is nothing more tragic than man living a life distant from GOD’s Presence, ignoring and rejecting His love.

Satan induced Eve to question GOD’s command and the first couple ate the fruit from the forbidden tree introducing sin into the world. Man was disobedient and contrary to GOD’s commands. When Adam and Eve ate the fruit they died spiritually resulting in a spiritual separation from GOD, this mean to say that their spirit was no longer connected to GOD. Instead, they were connected to Satan making themselves gods, independent from GOD and assuming control of their lives.

The individual’s attention became self-focused and he started to see himself as the centre of the universe and worthy of adoration. After Adam’s fall all men inherited sin’s curse because Adam opened the door to sin and death and only another man (JESUS) could close it.

”Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned (…) For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous”. (Romans 5:12,19)

Spiritual death means separation from GOD. When the individual sin, he is under the shadow and influence of Adam, but when he remains holy he is under the shadow and influence of JESUS.

“For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive”. (1 Corinthians 15:21-22)

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty”. (Psalm 91:1)

Furthermore, there is the principle of spiritual authority that GOD respects even Him having all the authority and sovereignty. GOD gave the authority to the man govern Earth and look after it guided by principles, values and standards stablished by GOD.