With this name: history of salvation, we understand the entrance of God into our human history and into our lives, it is God who comes to lead men to their end, to their purpose and destiny, which is the Kingdom of God. Salvation is one of the most important spiritual concepts in Christianity, a main goal is to obtain salvation, then fulfill the will of God, together with the call and purpose destined for each human being; the gospel accepts salvation as deliverance from the slavery of sin and condemnation. The history of salvation presents several stages established in the Bible.
The history of salvation.
The sacred scriptures have the notion of alliance, that God at a certain moment chooses Israel as his people; everything that happened within this nation, chosen to be the depository of the divine mission. The awareness of this reality allows Israel to understand and interpret in salvific key, the historical events that the revelation and salvation of man lives. Israel this small town was the scene of the wonderful actions of salvation.
God’s commitment centers on the promise made to Abraham “I will be your God, you will be my People”. then the commitment of the people of Israel focuses on the obligation to comply with the decalogue, on their part; God offers them friendship and protection.
In (Genesis 12:1-2)” But Jehovah had said to Abram: Go away from your relatives, and from your father’s house, to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.”
In the old testament the great believers since Abraham; passing through Moses to the last of the prophets, they experienced the presence of God, as Lord. The entire history of salvation in the Old Testament is oriented toward the promised Messiah.
In the old testament the story for salvation is preparation and figure of Jesus Christ and the new people of God; In the New Testament, God’s alliance with all humanity is recounted.
I invite you to read: Moses: A Story of the Slave Prince and Prophet of God.
Jesus, center of the history of salvation.
paul in (1 Corinthians 15: 21-28) “For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also came through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all shall be made alive.”
One of the things that Paul wants us to understand in his epistles is the great difference between Jesus and Adam; since the first man consumed his offspring in slavery to sin, but Jesus the second Adam, gave all those who are in Him grace and perfect justice.
As it says in (Romans 5: 16-17) “And with the gift it does not happen as in the case of the one who sinned; for surely the judgment came because of a single sin leading to condemnation, but the gift came because of many transgressions leading to justification For if by the transgression of only one death reigned, much more will reign in life by one, Jesus Christ, those who receive abundance of grace and the gift of justice “.
In order for a man to enter the Kingdom of God, must he be perfect? Nope! (Romans 3:9-12) What then? Are we better than them? In no way; for we have already accused Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin. As it is written: there is no righteous, not even one; no one understands, no one seeks God. They all strayed, together they became useless; there is no one who does good, there is not even one”. Nobody is perfect because all men are sinners.
Why is this a reality for all men; for Adam, in Eden, rebelled against God and as a consequence of his disobedience, God cursed him and cast him out of his presence, and with him all his offspring; that caused Adam to be far from the presence of God, without having access to Him because of slavery to sin, he not only gave himself, but all his progeny; that is why Paul can classify both Gentiles and Jews as sinners.
Stages of the history of salvation.
Preparation of the People of God: from the beginning God has wanted the salvation of all men. unfortunately man from his origins, rejected this divine friendship, thus separating himself from God, making enemies with his similarity and upsetting his relationship and domination with nature; however, God did not abandon humanity fallen into sin.
God begins by choosing a people.
God chose the patriarchs because he wanted to form a people, wanting the regrouping of men divided by sin. He chose Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, They are the bearers of the promises of descendants, of the land and of the blessing to all the peoples, through the patriarchs examples and models of faith, hope and obedience.
A people that frees itself and forms.
The descendants of the patriarchs settled in Egypt, where they suffered oppression and slavery at the hands of Pharaoh; then the people of Israel cried out to Jehovah, and He freed them from slavery. In (Exodus 2: 23-25) It came to pass that after many days he died, the king of Egypt and the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and cried out; and their cry went up to God because of his servitude. And God heard their groaning, and remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And God looked at the children of Israel, and God recognized them. Moses was chosen by God to be the guide and carry out this enterprising salvation.
They left the land and marched through the desert, rebelling against the God who had brought them out of that slavery; however, He forgives them by caring for them and providing them with what is necessary: bread and water; for they in the desert made an alliance with Jehovah; and thus the people of God were constituted and formed.
A people that lives under the alliance.
Under the mandate of Joshua, when conquering the land of Canaan; they settled there. There were moments of fidelity to Jehovah, but little by little the warnings of the prophets were separated from God; forgetting the alliance they had made. Those in power exploited the weak; They misused religious institutions for their security, this caused God to reject them with the destruction of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. exile was the punishment for breaking the alliance.
A people under the hope of the new alliance.
The punishment of exile is not the last word of the Lord, once again he shows them his mercy, returning to them the lands they had lost, and giving them a new hope of an alliance; that this time it would become a purification; the exiled people begin to reflect with the help of people and they recognize their mistake and convert to the Lord.
The prophets emerge as great figures as a sign of alliance between God and the people; they are called by Jehovah to be his voice among the people, their action was to remind the people of the covenant of the alliance, and to strengthen hope in the Messiah and in his Kingdom.
A people under the new alliance.
God sent his son when the fullness of time came; in Jesus all promises are fulfilled of the old testament, in Him the whole history of salvation comes to its fullness.
with his presence and manifestation, with his works and his words, signs, miracles, with his glorious death and victorious resurrection, and the sending of the Spirit of truth; it makes the Kingdom of God present, it reveals God’s mercy to us; He regroups the scattered men who are divided by sin, forming the new people of God, sealed with his blood.
Giving humanity through his sacrifice eternal life and in abundance so that we can see and know that the Kingdom of God is open to everyone who wants to receive it in his heart.
You may be interested in reading: In Jesus’ Name: Greater Works They Will Do – A Promise from God
Salvation history continues in the church
It continues in the history of salvation in the Church and in the life of the Christian, Jesus being its axis and its center; The Church is the new people of God, whose head is Christ and conforms as a Royal people; that is from Kings; Prophetic and Priestly People who march with their chief Christ towards the Kingdom of God.
In (Hebrews 7:25) “That is why he can also completely save those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to intercede for them.” By the sacrifice of Christ man’s relationship with God has acquired a new foundation; the merit of Jesus makes possible the liberation of sins and the annulment of the permanent separation from God; as he says: (2 Corinthians 5:17-19) “So if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; old things have passed away; behold, all things are made new. And all this comes from God, who reconciled us to himself by Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting men’s sins against them, and he entrusted to us the words of reconciliation “.
no one can reach self salvation; All the men they are sinners; for which it is necessary to reconcile with the Heavenly Father who created us to dwell in his perfect divine design; in the spiritual realm that the predestination for all humanity.
God’s work has the purpose of always achieving salvation, in the sense of “Protection” and “Redemption”. This action unfolds as a story of salvation. in it we recognize a succession of divine acts according to a plan established by God; through Jesus Christ, salvation became accessible to all men; “Good or bad”; to give us eternal life and fulfill the purpose for which we were created. For this reason it is important to instruct ourselves in his word, to get to know the plans that he has and how he works, keep searching and you will see that the revelation of Jesus will radiate and fill you with the Wisdom of heaven.
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