The Redemption Plan of God

In chapter 4 in Romans Paul explains that God had accounted Abraham righteous by faith. And in 4:24–25 he says “but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.”

Paul gives tremendous news that being accounted righteous by God through faith is for us as well, who believe in God, who raised Jesus from dead, and delivered Jesus to die for our sins, and rose up from the death for our justification. This was God’s redemption plan.

The apostle Paul makes it’s clear that both the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are essential to the work of our justification. Jesus Christ death and resurrection are seen as two movements of one single redemptive act initiated by God. Let’s look at the first:

1.  The redemptive plan of God was to deliver Christ to die for our sins.

a.  Paul says this about Jesus in v. 25 “who was delivered up for our offenses.”

b.  Our sins violated God’s law. God’s justice would require that death and eternal damnation be upon all of us. But out of the depth of God’s love, He spared us by sending Jesus to die in our place. Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Jesus Christ came to redeem us to pay our debt to God by becoming a curse for us. Gal 3:13 “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”

c.  Turn to 1 Pet. 3:18 I want you to understand that Christ was delivered up for our trespasses to bring us to God. “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.”

i.   His death brought us to God to live spiritually now, and his death has brought us to God to live eternally.

2.  The redemptive plan of God was to raise Christ from the dead for our justification.

a.  Next in v.25 Paul says that Jesus was, “raised because of our justification.” The word justification dikaiosis (de-kai-o-sees) means to cause someone to be in a proper or right relation with someone else—‘to put right with, to cause to be in a right relationship with.’ To put it another way it’s the act of God declaring us free from guilt and acceptable to him.

b.  Therefore, when Paul says that Jesus was raised because of our justification, it meant that, Jesus was raised to life to prove that we are right with God. His resurrection is proof that the justice of God is satisfied, that the ransom of our sins have been paid, and because Jesus lives we who have placed our faith in Christ, the Lord Jesus will raise us also, 2 Cor. 4:14 “knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence.”

Jesus death for our sins was necessary for our forgiveness, and His resurrection was needed so that God could justify us. Jesus was raised from the dead by God it proved that He had accepted Jesus sacrificial death for our sins; by pouring out His wrath on Jesus in our place and He would be able to justify sinners like you and me. Our justification means that God has declared we are righteous.

Paul writes in Romans 3:26 “to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

God didn’t violate His Holy justice for sin because He punished Christ for our sins, so then He is just to justify us who are guilty of sin. God’s divine verdict of declaring those of us who believe in Christ righteous, have been pardon from the guilt and penalty of sin, and the righteousness of Jesus Christ has been imputed (credited) to our account, this righteousness then allows us to be accepted by God.

Paul says in 2 Cor 5:21, “He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

We who have placed our faith in Christ have been made right with God.

To quote Charles Spurgeon “You stand before God as if you were Christ, because Christ stood before God as if He were you.

This divine exchange of our sins being imputed to Christ, and Christ righteousness imputed to us is the reason we are no longer alienated and enemies of God. Because the redemption plan of God reconciled us back to Him.

Romans 5:10 “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”

Colossians 1:19–21 “For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled”

Romans 5:1 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”

The redemption plan of God was for Jesus to suffer death as prophetically foretold by Isaiah 700 years before Jesus came to earth.

Isaiah 53:1–10 “Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. And they made His grave with the wicked— But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.” 

The Redemption plan of God was to offer Jesus to die for us before creation of the world.

Revelation 13:8 “All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” 

The Redemption plan of God was His intent not to spare His own son, but to die on our behave.

Turn to Romans 8:32–39 “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Because of God’s redemption plan we can take Paul’s word to heart that are found in these verses!

Therefore, as the German Reformer Martin Luther wrote: “Live as if Christ died yesterday, rose this morning, and is coming back tomorrow.”