Lesson 104 - Senior
Memory Verse
"The redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head" (Isaiah 51:11).
Cross References
I The First Promise of Redemption
1. The serpent's temptation to doubt God, "Hath God said?" [GEN:3:1]; [REV:12:9].
2. The fall of Adam and Eve under the temptation of Satan, [GEN:3:2-8].
3. With the curse of sin redemption promised, "It shall bruise thy head," [GEN:3:9-19]; [1CO:15:22].
II Israel's Deliverance a Type of Redemption
1. God's peculiar blessing to Israel because of His covenant with Abraham, [EXO:6:1-4]; [GEN:12:2-3].
2. His promise to "redeem" them out of Egyptian bondage, [EXO:6:5-6]; [EXO:12:12-14]; [LEV:17:11].
3. And make them His people and bring them into the Promised Land [EXO:6:7-8]; [EXO:19:4-6].
III Present Redemption of the Saved
1. Man in his sinful state "quickened" into newness of life, [EPH:2:1]; [1CO:15:45].
2. The sinful course of this world which he followed before his redemption, [EPH:2:2-3], [EPH:2:12]; [PS:1:1-2].
3. The spiritual resurrection of the man redeemed through Christ, [EPH:2:4-7]; [ROM:6:4].
IV The Great Consummation of Redemption
1. No cause to sorrow like the world for those who "sleep" in Jesus, [1TS:4:13-14]; [2CO:7:10].
2. The resurrection of the "dead" in Christ at His coming, [1TS:4:15-16]; [JOB:19:25-27].
3. The translation of the "alive" in Christ to meet the Lord in the air, [1TS:4:17-18]; [HEB:11:5]; [1CO:15:51].
Notes
God's Plan of Redemption
God's plan of redemption was not a provision, which was made after man's fall. It was conceived through the foreknowledge of God before ever man was created, for the Lamb was "slain from the foundation of the world" (Revelation 13:8). And no sooner was the curse of sin pronounced upon the earth as a result of Adam's fall, than immediately God, in His infinite love for a lost humanity, disclosed, in part at least, His great plan of redemption. He foretold of the Seed that should bruise the serpent's head, and that Seed is Christ, the promised Messiah. Thus at this early stage of man's history do we find John 3:16 fulfilled, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
Israel's Deliverance out of Egypt
Abel, in conformity with God's plan of redemption, brought of the firstlings of his flock. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering, because of the shed blood, without which there is no remission of sins. And throughout the antediluvian and patriarchal periods there were those who sought and found God, because, like Abel, they brought the offerings of their flocks. Among these were Noah, Abraham, Job, the prophets of old, and many others, who found grace in the sight of God because they sought redemption through the blood.
But the deliverance of the Children of Israel out of the cruel bondage of Egypt is an outstanding type of God's redemption of man, because as they suffered under the lash of the taskmasters of Egypt, so has man suffered under the bondage of Satan. "The way of transgressors is hard." The original word in the New Testament meaning to redeem is exagorazo, which means to buy out, that is, to buy out of the pawnshop of the devil, so to speak. The sinner is sold out to sin and is in the pawnshop of the devil. And there is no hope of deliverance unless the price of redemption is paid. No relative, no friend, no man can pay that price. It is written, "He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor" (Isaiah 59:16). So God Himself sent an Intercessor. Jesus Christ was the only One in Heaven above who could pay the price of man's redemption, and He left His throne and came down to this world of woe to pay the price with His own precious Blood on Calvary. The Cross of Calvary points two ways it points back to the time of the Law; it points ahead to the days of grace. The redemption which Christ won spans the globe. It holds out a hope for people of every kindred, nation, and tongue. It is the world's only hope today.
God in Heaven heard the groanings of Israel, and in His mercy He came to their rescue; and in His own way and by His own plan He led them out of bondage by a high and mighty hand. He commanded them to take of the flock a lamb without blemish a lamb for each household; to kill the lamb, catch the blood in a basin, and sprinkle the blood with hyssop upon the lintels and two side posts of their dwellings. And He said, "When I see the blood, I will pass over you." That night a great cry rose up in Egypt. The destroying angel passed through the land, and in every dwelling where no blood appeared the first born of that household died from Pharaoh upon his throne to the beasts in the field. But there were no deaths in Goshen, because they were under the blood. That night, undetained by their enemies, the Children of Israel gathered up their belongings and marched out of Egypt, guided by the pillar of fire by night and the pillar of cloud by day. Their cruel bondage was a thing of the past!
The blood of the lamb on the night of the Passover but points to Christ. When that lone Figure approached the banks of Jordan, John the Baptist cried, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." That cry of John the Baptist ought to awaken a hope in the heart of every sin burdened soul. Great iniquity is abounding in the world in these days, and the love of many is waxing cold. But we may still take up the cry of John: "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." You who are in the pawnshop of the devil, look to the Lamb of God! look to the Lamb of God!
Present Redemption of the Saved
When the Children of Israel passed through the Red Sea dry shod; when they stood safe on the other side, and the army of Pharaoh, assaying to follow them, was drowned in the deep; they then, as well they might, rejoiced and sang a song of praise unto their God commemorating their mighty deliverance. And so may every sinner who has found deliverance in Christ Jesus. "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."
The Apostle Paul has likened the new birth to a resurrection: "Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptised into Jesus Christ were baptised into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:3, 4). Thus the one who is born again has undergone a spiritual resurrection. The resurrection power of the Son of God is operating in his being, enabling him to walk with God, like Enoch of old, in righteousness and holiness. "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.... But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:1, 2, 4-6).
And no saved person denies but what here are abundant reasons for great rejoicing a life of victory, a life of peace and joy, in comparison with which the dark past seems like a nightmare. As Paul expresses it, "At that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, arid without God in the world" (Ephesians 2:12). So great is the change wrought by the new birth that some are inclined to limit their redemption to the Christian walk here on earth. But the Bible has something more to tell us about God's plan of redemption.
The Great Consummation of Redemption
In Hebrews 9:28 we read, "Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation." The fore part of this verse, "Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many," is not difficult for a believer to understand. That, we know, was fulfilled in Jesus' first coming when He bore our sins in His body upon the cross. But the latter part of this verse is not so clear: "And unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation." Some Christians are inclined to limit their salvation to the experience of justification, to say nothing of the deeper experiences of sanctification and the baptism of the Holy Ghost. But there is no mistaking the significance of the above words our salvation is intimately and vitally connected with His coming "the second time." And the importance of these words is suggested in the expression, "Unto them that look for him." This reminds us of the admonition of the Lord Jesus, "He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved" (Matthew 24:13).
Perhaps a few verses taken from the writings of the Apostle Peter will make the above teaching more plain: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (I Peter 1:3-5).
Looking for the Coming of the Lord
It is evident from the above two passages that our salvation (or redemption), from the day we are born again, extends through our entire earthly pilgrimage, unto the coming of the Lord "if we walk in the light, as he is in the light." Thus redemption begins with justification and is consummated with glorification in that great day when the Lord descends from Heaven to catch away His waiting Bride. To which day the Apostle Paul obviously points in his Epistle to the Ephesians, "Grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption" (Ephesians 4:30). And he exhorts us to so walk and so look for Jesus' coming that that day of redemption shall be the glad hope of our hearts, causing us to hasten unto His coming. "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:11-13). The nominal and backslidden Christians of today are no longer holding to "that blessed hope."
The denominational churches which once believed in His coming have discarded that teaching altogether and are saying, "Where is the promise of His coming?" They have rejected the Christ who said, "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." And on the other hand, there are multitudes who are professing to believe in His coming but are living lives which are a stark denial of their profession. They shall never stand before Him in that day. But Jesus still has a people that little flock unto whom it is the Father's good pleasure to give the kingdom. They still hold fast to that blessed hope, and are uniting in that prayer of John the Revelator, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus."
The Mountaintops and the Valleys
But there is another phase to the life of a Christian in his earthly pilgrimage regarding which we are admonished in the Word, and which we must not overlook. The Christian frequently in his early experiences has a vision of mountaintops where it is all peace and joy and happiness. But he usually travels only a short distance when he finds there are also deep valleys to go through. The Apostle Peter had no sooner presented to the Christian the thought of "an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you," than he said, "Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ" (I Peter 1:4,6,7). Jesus reminded His disciples, "In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). And the Lord, through the Apostle Paul, admonished us, "My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth" (Hebrews 12:5, 6). This is a means which God, in His wisdom, and also in His mercy, is employing for perfecting His people for that heavenly Kingdom. And the apostle himself well knew that when he penned these words, for he went through great trials, but he could also add, "I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." And we need, like him, to look beyond these "light afflictions" to the promise of His coming, to that great day of redemption. "For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself" (Philippians 3:20, 21).
Great trouble is now upon the earth. Iniquity is abounding and the love of many is waxing cold. We are living in perilous times. "For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body" (Romans 8:22, 23). Jesus prophesied of these very conditions, which should come upon the earth in the last days, and then He added, "When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh" (Luke 21:28).
Questions
1. Quote the Scripture where is implied the first promise in the Bible of man's redemption.
2. What at that early date happened to humanity that required a plan of redemption?
3. Was God's plan of redemption made before or after man's fall? Quote Scripture to substantiate your answer.
4. When does a sinner's redemption begin? and when does it reach its consummation?
5. With what great event is this consummation of man's redemption connected?
6. What is the great hope, which has from the beginning inspired the true Church of Christ to a holy walk with the Lord?
7. As a Christian undergoes trials in his earthly pilgrimage, what helps to sustain him in these trials?
8. For what purpose does God permit these trials to come upon Christians?