The Master’s Plan, Part 1: Where it All Began

Scripture Reading

2 Corinthians 6:2 (ESV)

For he says, “In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

Opening Hymn 341: To God be the Glory

Closing Hymn 316: Live Out Thy Life Within Me

Introduction

Plan ahead, it was not raining when Noah built the ark.

The plan of salvation was not an afterthought when humanity messed up

The plan of salvation was in place even before the earth was created.

What is the Plan of Salvation?

The plan of salvation is God's plan to save humanity from sin and its consequences.

Think of Salvation as an orange that has segments that include:

Redemption - freedom from the bondage of sin

Grace and Faith - Salvation is a gift of grace that is received through faith in Jesus Christ

Eternal Life - we will continue to exist beyond our physical death

Relationship With God - Salvation is what makes it possible for us to have a relationship with God.

Salvation, or redemption, is the central concern of the Bible. Biblical history shows that the entire human race needs salvation, because sin as self-centeredness and rebellion against God is a universal phenomenon. Sin has damaged all human relationships: to our Creator, to other people, to our environment, and even our understanding of our own selves. The world has become self-destructive—Hans K. LaRondelle

The GCT

The plan of salvation is part of a broader theme that Seventh-day Adventist refer to as the Great Controversay Theme or GCT for short.

What is the GCT?

It is theme of the whole Bible from Genesis to Revelation and Paul in his letter to the Corinthians give an indication as to the GCT:

1 Corinthians 13:12 (ESV)

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

GCT:

Who - who is God?

What - what is the problem?

When - when did the problem begin?

Where - where is the problem located and who does it affect?

How - how do we solve the problem

Who is God?

The Bible says:

1 John 4:8 (ESV)

Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

The heart of this conflict focuses on motivation and character: Satan has charged (and influenced men and women to believe) that God is unfair, unforgiving, and arbitrary—Herbert E. Douglass

What is the Problem?

Isaiah 14:12–14 (ESV)

“How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’

Pride in his own glory nourished the desire for supremacy. The high honors conferred upon Lucifer were not appreciated as the gift of God and called forth no gratitude to the Creator. He gloried in his brightness and exaltation, and aspired to be equal with God. He was beloved and reverenced by the heavenly host. Angels delighted to execute his commands, and he was clothed with wisdom and glory above them all. Yet the Son of God was the acknowledged Sovereign of heaven, one in power and authority with the Father. In all the counsels of God, Christ was a participant, while Lucifer was not permitted thus to enter into the divine purposes. “Why,” questioned this mighty angel, “should Christ have the supremacy? Why is He thus honored above Lucifer?” GC 495.1

Jesus also speaks of this problem in a parable:

Matthew 13:24–30 ESV

He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”

When & Where Did the Problem Begin?

Revelation 12:7–9 (ESV)

Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

Satan was once an honored angel in heaven, next to Christ. His countenance, like those of the other angels, was mild and expressive of happiness. His forehead was high and broad, showing great intelligence. His form was perfect; his bearing noble and majestic. But when God said to His Son, “Let us make man in our image,” Satan was jealous of Jesus. He wished to be consulted concerning the formation of man, and because he was not, he was filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred. He desired to receive the highest honors in heaven next to God. EW 145.1

The problem began before the creation of human kind and Lucifer’s downfall was in heaven, but the problem came down to planet earth.

Sin: The Death Virus

Satan decided to attack the object of God’s love the creation of man and woman:

Scene 1

Genesis 1:27–31 (ESV)

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Scene 2

Genesis 3:1–7 (ESV)

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

“Heaven, we have a problem”

How Do We Solve this Problem?

Next Week: We Need to Talk About Jesus